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JSSESSWFnFTHESjmOSOPM: SOCIEZna- XHE SOUTESMOLUfAj::- 




THE 



CAROLINA TRIBUTE 



TO 



c ^ L H o XT isr . 



EDITED BY J'.'-p . "'t H M A S 



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' This was the noblest Roman of them all."— Shakspeare. 



P 

/ COLUMBIA, S. C: ' 
RICHARD L. BRYAN 

1857. 



PRINTED AT TIIE OFFICE OF " THE SOUTH CAROLINIAN." 



PREFACE. 



The present Volume is commended to the People of South Carolina Tivith 
every confidence that it will be accepted by them as a valued memento of a sad 
but cherished past. Designed mainly to commemorate the death of Calhoun, it 
embraces all the important incidents, ceremonies, and testimonials connected 
with that great event ; together with the several discourses, addresses, and ora- 
tions, elicited from the full hearts of admiring Carolinians. The death at Wash- 
ington ; the meeting in the Senate Hall ; the removal home of the mortal remains ; 
the imposing demonstration at Charleston ; the Cemetery of St. Philip's ; the 
plain marble slab with its brief though expressive inscription ; and then the 
solemn gathering of our people in various quarters, — these are the scenes which 
the volume depicts — these the recollections it revives. It thus speaks forcibly 
to the heart, and, moreover, presents a record of mingled love, admiration, and 
grief, such we conceive as has been vouchsafed to but very few men. 

Herein are contained the remarks in Congress of distinguished Senators and 
Representatives ; the Sermon of the Chaplain of the Senate ; the Report of the 
Committee of Twenty-five ; the Narrative of the Funeral Honors at Charleston ; 
the Message of Governor Seabrook ; the Discourses of the Rev. Messrs. Barn- 
well, Thornwell, Miles, Palmer, and Smith ; and the Orations — instinct with 
thought and feeling — of Messrs. AUston, Coit, Henry, Whyte, Porcher, Ham- 
mond, Rhett, and Porter. Nor must we omit to refer to the Resolutions of the 
Pennsylvania and the New York Legislature, the Proceedings of the New York 
Historical Society, and to other memorials of rare interest ; all bearing the 
highest testimony to the virtues and the services of our great statesman, and 
showing how well the splendor of his public conduct accorded with the stainless 
purity of his private life. 

Precious, therefore, are the memories which this volume embalms ; useful is 
the lesson it teaches ; and deathless the spirit it excites. Filled with thoughts 
of high import — with the sentiments both of laymen and divines, its pages wear 
the chaste impress of truth, and glow with the fire of genuine eloquence. Im- 
pressively they tell of patriotism and noble self-devotion ; of duty and its stern 
behests ; of greatness and its large rewards; of laurels ivon and cypress scattered. 

With respect to the Engraving here given — which was executed expressly for 



IV PREFACE. 

this work by a native South Carolinian — we are fully satisfied that it may justly 
be deemed a truthful likeness. From a highly approved portrait painted by Mr. 
W. H. Scarborough, the well-known artist, the value of this engraving is en- 
hanced by the fact that it is, perhaps, more accurate than any previous repre- 
sentation of its subject. The admirers of " the great Carolinian" may there see 
"what manner of man" he was ; and generously kindling at the picture, may 
realize the truth and fitness of the poet's remark : 

" He lives in fame that dies In virtue's cause;" 

Finally, as to the share of the Editor in this volume, it is proper to state that 
bis task has been little more than that of compilation and arrangement. He has 
but conceived and consummated a design which he thought eminently due to the 
living as well as the dead. He has not here aspired to authorship — has had the 
honor of making no regular contribution to this work : but it may be conceded 
that he has rendered the public some service in raising to a proper rank, and 
putting in an enduring form, the productions of other and far more gifted pens. 
While, in other words, he has sought to add no jewel of his own to the crown, it 
has been his privilege to arrange in a befitting casket the choice gems of others — 
which he now presents as a votive ofi"ering to the memory of Calhoun. 

J. P. T. 

Columbia, S. C, November, 1857. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

PROCEEDINGS IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE 1 

BUTLER'S SERMON, 17 

PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 24 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF TWENTY-FIVE 39 

NARRATIVE OF THE FUNERAL HONORS AT CHARLESTON 65 

RESOLUTIONS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATURE 85 

RESOLUTIONS OF THE NEW YORK LEGISLATURE 86 

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY 88 

BARNWELL'S SERMON 92 

THORNWELL'S SERMON 107 

ALLSTON'S EULOGY 133 

COIT'S EULOGY 149 

RION'S EULOGY 190 

MILES' DISCOURSE 191 

HENRY'S EULOGY 210 

PALMER'S DISCOURSE 241 

WHYTE'S EULOGY 255 

PORCHER'S EULOGY 271 

J^ HAMMOND'S ORATION 283 •*(: 

GOVERNOR SEABROOK'S MESSAGE 320 

RHETT'S ORATION 332 

SMITH'S DISCOURSE 375 

PORTER'S ORATION , 383 

RIVERS' ODE 41C 

CONCLUDING REMARKS 411 



PROCEEDINGS 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES IN RELATION TO THE 
DEATH OF HON. JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN. 

In the Senate of the United States, 
Monday, April 1, 1850. 

C>u the motion of Mr. King, the reading of the Journal of Thursday 
was dispensed with. 

Mr. Butler rose and said : 

Mr. President : I rise to discharge a mournful duty, and one which 
involves in it considei-ations well calculated to arrest the attention of 
this body. It is to announce the death of my late colleague, the Hon. 
John Caldavell Calhoun. He died at his lodgings in this city, 
yesterday morning, at half-past seven o'clock. He was conscious of his 
approaching end, and met death with fortitude and uncommon serenity. 
He had many admonitions of its approach, and without doubt he had 
not been indiiferent to them. With his usual aversion to professions 
he said nothing for mere effect on the world, and his last hours were an 
exemplification of his life and character, truth and simplicity. 

Mr. Calhoun, for some years past, had been suffering under a pul- 
monary complaint, and under its effects could have reckoned but on a 
short existence. Such was his own conviction. The immediate cause 
of his death was an affection of the heart. A few hours before he 
expired, he became sensible of his situation ; and when he was unable 
to speak, his eye and look evinced recognition and intelligence of what 
was passing. One of the last directions he gave was to a dutiful son, 
who had been attending him, to put away some manuscripts which had 
been written a short time before, under his dictation. 

Mr. Calhoun was the least despondent man I ever knew ; and he 
had, in an eminent degree, the self-sustaining power of intellect. His 
last days, and his last remarks, are exemplifications of what I have just 
said. Mental determination sustained him, when all others were in 
despair. We saw him a few days ago in the seat near me, which he 
had so long and so honorably occupied ; we saw the struggle of a great 
mind exerting itself to sustain and overcome the weakness and infirmi- 



JL THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

ties of a sinking body. It was the exhibition of a wounded eagle, 
with his eyes turned to the heavens in which he had soared, but into 
which his wings could never carry him again. 

Mr. President, Mr. Calhoun has lived in an eventful period of our 
Republic, and has acted a distinguished part. I surely do not venture 
too much, when I say that his reputation forms a striking part of a 
glorious history. Since 1811, until this time, he has been responsibly 
connected with the Federal Government. As Representative, Senator, 
Cabinet Minister, and Vice President, he has been identified with the 
greatest events in the political history of our country. And I hope I 
may be permitted to say, that he has been equal to all the duties which 
were devolved upon him in the many critical junctures in which he 
was placed. Having to act a responsible part, he always acted a 
decided part. It would not become me to venture upon the judgment 
which awaits his memory. That will be formed by posterity before the 
impartial tribunal of history. It may be that he will have had the 
fate, and will have given him the judgment, that has been awarded to 
Chatham. 

I should do the memory of my friend injustice were I not to speak 
of his life in the spirit of history. The dignity of his whole character 
would rebuke any tone of remark which truth and judgment would not 
sanction. 

Mr. Calhoun was a native of South Carolina and was born in Abbe- 
ville district, on the 18th March, 1782. He was of an Irish family. 
His father, Patrick Calhoun, was born in Ireland, and at an early age 
came to Pennsylvania, thence moved to the western part of Virginia 
and after Braddock's defeat, moved to South Carolina in 1756. He 
and his family gave a name to what is known as the Calhoun settlement 
in xVbbeville district. The mother of my colleague was a Miss Cald- 
well, born in Charlotte county, Virginia. The character of his parents 
had no doubt a sensible influence on the destiny of their distinguished 
son. His father had energy and enterprise, combined with perse- 
verance and great mental determination. His mother belonged to a 
family of revolutionary heroes. Two of her brothers were distinguished 
in the Revolution. Their names and achievements are not left to tra 
dition, but constitute a part of the history of the times. 

Mr. Calhoun was born in the Revolution, and in his childhood felt 
the influence of its exciting traditions. He derived from the paternal 
stock, intellect and self-reliance, and from the Caldwells, enthusiasm 
and impulse. The traditions of the Revolution had a sensible influence 
on his temper and character. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 3 

Mr. Calhoun, in his childhood, had but limited advantages of what 
is termed a literary tuition. His parents lived in a newly-settled 
country, and among a sparse population. This population had but a 
slight connection with the lower country of South Carolina, and were 
sustained by emigrants from Virginia and Pennsylvania. There was, 
of course, but limited means of instruction to children. They imbibed 
most of their lessons from the conversation of their parents. Mr. 
Calhoun has always expressed himself deeply sensible of that influ- 
ence. At the age of thirteen he was put under the charge of his 
brother-in-law. Dr. Waddell, in Columbia county, Georgia. Scarcely 
had he commenced his literary course before his father and sister died. 
His brother-in-law, Dr. Waddell devoted himself about this time to his 
clerical duties, and was a great deal absent from home. 

On his second marriage he resumed the duties of his academy; and, 
in his nineteenth year, Mr. Calhoun put himself under the charge of 
this distinguished teacher. It must not be supposed that his mind, 
before this, had been unemployed. He had availed himself of the 
advantages of a small library, and had been deeply inspired by his 
reading of history. It was under such influences that he entered the 
academy of his preceptor. His progress was rapid. He looked forward 
to a higher arena with eagerness and purpose. 

He became a student in Yale College in 1802, and graduated two 
years afterwards with distinction, as a young man of great ability, and 
with the respect and confidence of his preceptors and fellows. What 
they have said and thought of him would have given any man a high 
reputation. It is the pure fountain of a clear reputation. If the 
stream has met with obstructions, they were such as have only shown 
its beauty and majesty. 

After he had graduated, Mr. Calhoun studied law, and for a few 
years practised in the courts of South Carolina, with a reputation that 
has descended to the profession. He was then remarkable for some 
traits that have since characterized him. He was clear in his propo- 
sitions, and candid in his intercourse with his brethren. The truth and 
justice of the law inculcated themselves on his mind, and when armed 
with these he was a great advocate. 

His forensic career was, however, too limited to make a prominent 
part in the history of his life. He served for some years in the Legis- 
lature of his native State ; and his great mind made an impression on 
her statutes, some of which have had a great practical operation on the 
concerns of society. From the Legislature of his own State he was 
transferred to Congress ; and from that time his career has been a part 
of the history of the Federal Government, 



4 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

JMr. Calhoun came into Congress at a time of deep and excitinp; 
interest — at a crisis of great magnitude. It was a crisis of peril to 
those who had to act in it, but of subsequent glory to the actors and 
the common history of the country. The invincibility of Great Britain 
had become a proverbial expression, and a war with her was full of 
terrific issues. Mr. Calhoun found himself at once in a situation of 
hio-h responsibility — one that required more than speaking qualities and 
eloquence to fulfil it. The spirit of the people required direction ; the 
energy and ardor of youth were to be employed in aifairs requiring the 
maturer qualities of a statesman. The part which Mr. Calhoun acted 
at this time has been approved and applauded by cotemporaries, and 
now forms a part of the glorious history of those times. 

The names of Clay, Calhoun, Cheves, and Lowndes, Grundy, 
Porter, and others, carried associations with them that reached the 
heart oj the nation. Their clarion notes penetrated the army,* they 
animated the people, and sustained the Administration of the Govern- 
ment. With such actors, and in such scenes — the most eventful of 
our history — to say that Mr. Calhoun did not perform a second part, 
is no common praise. In debate he was equal with Randolph, and in 
council he commanded the respect and confidence of Madison. At 
this period of his life he had the quality of Themistocles — to inspire 
confidence — which, after all, is the highest of earthly qualities in a 
public man ; it is a mystical something which is felt, but cannot be 

desci'ibed. 

The events of the war were brilliant and honorable to both statesmen 
and soldiers, and their history may be read with enthusiasm and 
delight. The war terminated with honor ; but the measures which had 
to be taken, in a transition to a peace establishment, were full of diffi- 
culty and embarrassment. This distinguished Statesman, with his 
usual intrepidity, did not hesitate to take a responsible and leading 
part. Under the influence of a broad patriotism, he acted with an 
uncalculating -liberality to all the interests that were involved, and 
which were brought under review of Congress. His personal adversary 
at this time, in his admiration for his genius, paid Mr. Calhoun a 
beautiful compliment for his noble and national sentiments, and views 
of policy. The gentleman to whom I refer is Mr. Grosveuor, of New 
York, who used the following language in debate : 

"He had heard with peculiar satisfaction the able, manly, and eon- 

* Governor Dodge, (now a Senator on this floor,) who was at that time a gal- 
lant officer of the army, informs me that tbe speeches of Calhoun and Clay were 
publicly read to the army, and exerted a most decided influence on the spirits of 
the men. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES O 

stitutional speech of the gentleman from South Carolina. (Here Mr. 
Grosvenor recurring in his own mind to a personal difference with Mr. 
Calhoun, which arose out of the warm party discussions during the 
war, paused for a moment, and then proceeded.) 

" Mr. Speaker, I will not be restrained. No barrier shall exist 
which I will not leap over, for the purpose of offering to that gentleman 
my thanks for the judicious, independent and national course which he , 
has pursued in this House for the last two years, and particularly on 
the subject now before us. Let the honorable gentleman continue with 
the same manly independence, aloof from party views and local preju- 
dices, to pursue the great interests of his country, and to fulfil the high 
destiny for which it is manifest he was born. The buzz of popular 
applause may not cheer him on his way, but he will inevitably arrive at 
a high and bappy elevation in the view of his -country and the world." 

At the termination of Mr. Madisou's administration, Mr. Calhoun 
had acquired a commanding reputation ; he was regarded as one of the 
sages of the Republic. In 1817, Mr. Monroe invited him to a place 
in his Cabinet. Mr. Calhoun's friends doubted the propriety of his 
accepting it, and some of them thought he would put a high reputation 
at hazard in this new sphere of action. Perhaps these suggestions 
fired his high and gifted intellect; he accepted the place, and went 
into the War Department under circumstances that might have appalled 
other men. His success has been acknowledged. What was complex 
and confused, he reduced to simplicity and order. His organization of 
the War Department, and his administration of its undefined duties, 
have made the impression of an author, having the interest of origi- 
nality, and the sanction of trial. 

To appHcants for office, Mr. Calhoun made few promises, and hence 
he was not accused of delusion and deception. When a public trust 
was involved, he would not compromise with duplicity or temporary 
expediency. 

At the expiration of Mr. Monroe's administration, Mr. Calhoun's 
name became connected with the Presidency; and from that time to 
his death he had to share the fate of all others who occupy prominent 
situations. 

The remarkable canvass for the President to succeed Mr. Monroe, 
terminated in returning three distinguished men to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, from whom one was to be elected. Mr. Calhoun was 
elected Vice President by a large majority. He took his seat in the 
Senate as Vice President on the 4th of March, 1825, having remained 
in the War Department over seven years. 



6 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

While he was Vice President, he was placed in some of the most 
' trying scenes of any man's life. I do not now choose to refer to any- 
thing that can have the elements of controversy ; but I hope I may be 
permitted to speak of my friend and colleague in a character in which 
all will join in paying him sincere respect. As a presiding officer of 
this body, he had the undivided respect of its members. He was 
^puncturd, methodical and im'partial, and had a high regard for the 
dignity of the Senate, which, as a presiding officer, he endeavored to 
preserve and maintain. He looked upon debate as an honorable contest 
of intellect for truth. Such a strife has its incidents and its trials j 
but Mr. Calhoun had, in an eminent degree, a regard for parliameu- 
tary dignity and propriety. 

Upon General Hayne's leaving the Senate to become Governor of 
South Carolina, Mr. Calhoun resigned the Vice Presidency, and was 
elected in his place. All will now agree, that such a position was 
environed with difficulties and dangers. His own State was under 
the ban, and he was in the national Senate to do her justice under his 
constitutional obligations. That part of his life posterity will review, 
and I am confident will do it full and impartial justice. 

After his senatorial term had expired, he went into retirement by 
his own consent. The death of Mr. Upshur — so full of melancholy 
associations — made a vacancy in the State Department ; and it was by 
the common consent of all parties that Mr. Calhoun was called to fill 
it. This was a tribute of which any public man might well be proud. 
It was a tribute to truth, ability and experience. Under Mr. Cal- 
houn's counsels Texas was brought into the Union. His name is 
associated with one of the most remarkable events of history — that of 
one republic being annexed to another by the voluntary consent of 
both. He was the happy agent to bring about this fraternal associa- 
tion. It is a conjunction under the sanction of his name, and by an 
influence exerted through his great and intrepid mind. 3Ir. Calhoun's 
connection with the Executive department of the Government termi- 
nated with Mr. Tyler's administration. As a Secretary of State, he 
won the confidence and respect of foreign ambassadoi's, and his dis- 
patches were characterized by clearness, sagacity and boldness. 

He was not allowed to remain in retirement long. For the last five 
years he has been a member of this body, and has been engaged in 
discussions that have deeply excited and agitated the country. He 
h died amidst them. I had never had any particuliar association 
with Mr. Calhoun, until I became his colleague in this body. I had 
looked on his fame as others had done, and had admired his character. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 7 

There are those here who know more of hiui than I do. I shall not 
pronounce any such judgment as may be subject to a controversial 
criticism. But I will say, as a matter of justice, from my own personal 
knowledge, that I never knew a fairer man in argument, or a juster 
man in purpose. His intensity allowed of little compromise. While 
he did not qualify his own positions to suit the temper of the times, he 
appreciated the unmasked propositions of others. As a Senator, he 
commanded the respect of the ablest men of the body of which he was 
a member; and I believe I may say, that where there was no political 
bias to influence the judgment he had the confidence of his brethren. 
As a statesman, Mr. Calhoun's reputation belongs to the history of 
the country, and I commit it to his countrymen and posterity. 

In my opinion, Mr. Calhoun deserves to occupy the first rank as a 
parliamentary speaker. He had always before him the dignity of pur- 
pose, and he spoke to an end. From a full mind, fired by genius, he 
expressed his ideas with clearness, simplicity and force; and in language 
that seemed to be the vehicle of his thoughts and emotions. His 
thoughts leaped from his mind like arrows from a well-drawn bow. 
They had both the aim and force of a skillful archer. He seemed to 
have have had little regard for ornament; and when he used figures of 
speech, they were only for illustration. His manner and countenance 
were his best language ; and in these there was an exemplification of 
what is meant by Action in that term of the great Athenian orator and 
statesman, whom, in so many respects, he so closely resembled. They 
served to exhibit the moral elevation of the man. 

In speaking of Mr. Calhoun as man and neighbor, I am sure I 
may speak of him in a sphere in which all will love to contemplate 
him. Whilst he was a gentleman of striking deportment, he was a 
man of primitive taste and simple manners. He had the hardy virtues 
and simple tastes of a republican citizen. No one disliked ostentation 
and exhibition more than he did. When I say he was a good neighhor, 
I imply more than I have expressed. It is summed up under the word 
justice. I will venture to say that no one in his private relations could 
ever say that Mr. Calhoun treated him with injustice, or that he 
deceived him by professions or concealments. His private character 
was illustrated by a beautiful propriety, and was the exemplification of 
truth, justice, temperance, and fidelity to all his engagements. 

I will venture another remark. Mr. Calhoun was fierce in his con- 
tests with political adversaries. He did not stop in the fight to count 
losses or bestow favors. But he forgot resentments, and forgave injuries 
inflicted by rivals, with signal magnanimity. Whilst he spoke freely 



8 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

of their faults, he could with justice appreciate the merits of all the 
public meu of whom I have heard him speak. He was sincerely 
attached to the institutions of this country, and desired to preserve 
them pure and make them perpetual. 

By the death of Mr. Calhoun, one of the brightest luminaries has 
been extinguished in the political firmament. It is an event which 
will produce a deep sensation throughout this broad land and the 
civilized woi'ld. 

I have forborne to speak of his domestic relations. They make a 
sacred circle, and I will not invade it. 

Mr. Butler then offered the following resolutions : 

Resolved unanimously, That a committee be appointe* by the Vice 
President to take order for superintending the funeral of the Hon. 
John Cildwell Calhoun, which will take place to-morrow, at 12 
o'clock meridian, and that the Senate will attend the same. 

Resolved unanimously, That the members of the Senate, from a sin- 
cere desire of showing every mark of respect due to the memory of the 
Hon. John Caldwell Calhoun, deceased, late a member thereof, 
will go into mourning for him for one month, by the usual mode of 
wearing crape on the left arm. 

Resolved unanimously. That, as an additional mark of respect to the 
memory of the deceased, the Senate do now adjourn. 

Mr. Clay. — Mr. President : Prompted by my own feelings of pro- 
found regret, and by the intimations of some highly esteemed friends, 
I wish, in rising to second the resolutions which have been offered, 
and which have just been read, to add a few words to what has been so 
well and so justly said by the surviving colleague of the illustrious 
deceased. 

My personal acquaintance with him, Mr. President, commenced 
upwards of thirty-eight years ago. We entered at the same time, 
toother, the House of Representatives, at the other end of this build- 
ino-. The Congress of which we thus became members was thaf 
amongst whose deliberations and acts was the declaration of war against 
the most powerful nation, as it respects us, in the world. During the 
preliminary discussions which arose in the preparation for that great 
event, as well as during those which took place when the resolution 
was finally adopted, no member displayed a more lively and patriotic 
sensibility to the wrongs which led to that momentous event than the 
deceased whose death we all now so much deplore. Ever active, ardent, 
able, no one was in advance of him in denouncing the foreign injustice 
which compelled us to appeal to arms. Of all the Congresses with 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 9 

which I have had any acquaintance since my entry into the service of 
the Federal Government, in none, in my humble opinion, has been 
assembled such a galaxy of eminent and able men as were in the House 
of Representatives of that Congress which declared the war, and in 
that immediately following the peace ; and, amongst that splendid con- 
stellation, none shone more bright and brilliant than the star which is 
now set. 

It was my happiness, sir, during a large part of the life of the 
departed, to concur with him on all great questions of national policy. 
And, at a later period, when it was my fortune to differ from him as to 
measures of domestic policy, I had the happiness to agree with him 
o-enerally, as to those which concerned our foreign relations, and espe- 
cially as to the preservation of the peace of the country. During the 
long session at which the war was declared, we were messmates, as 
were other distinguished members of Congress from his own patriotic 
State. I was afforded, by the intercourse, which resulted from that 
fact, as well as the subsequent intimacy and intercourse which arose 
between us, an opportunity to form an estimate, not merely of his public, 
but of' his private, life ; and no man with whom I have ever been 
acquainted, exceeded him in habits of temperance and regularity, and 
in all the freedom, frankness, and affability of social intercourse, and 
in all the tenderness, and respect, and affection, which he manifested 
towards that lady who now mourns more than any other, the sad event 
which has just occurred. Such, Mr, President was the high estimate 
I formed of his transcendent talents, that if, at the end of his service 
in the Executive Department, under Mr. Monroe's administration, the 
dvities of which he performed with such signal ability, he had been 
called to the highest ofl&ce in the Grovernment, I should have felt per- 
fectly assured that under his auspices, the honor, the prosperity, and 
the glory of our country would have been safely placed. 

Sir, he has gone ! No more shall we witness from yonder seat the 
flashes of that keen and penetrating eye of his, darting through this 
chamber. No more shall we be thrilled by that torrent of clear, con- 
cise, compact logic, poured out from his lips, which, if it did not 
always carry conviction to our judgment, always commanded our great 
admiration. Those eyes and lips are closed forever ! 

And when, Mr. President, will that great vacancy which has been 
created by the event to which we are now alluding, when will it be 
filled by an equal amount of ability, patriotism, and devotion to what 
he conceived to be the best interests of his country ? 

Sir, this is not the appropriate occasion, nor would I be the appro- 



10 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

priate person, to attempt a deliaeatioii of his character, or the powers 
of his enlightened mind. I will only say, in a few words, that he 
possessed au elevated genius of the highest order; that in felicity of 
genei'alization of the subjects of which his mind treated, I have seen 
him surpassed by no one ; and the charm and captivating influence of 
his colloquial powers have been felt by all who have conversed with 
him. I was his S3nior, Mr. President, in years — in nothing else. 
A.ccording to the course of nature, I ought to have preceded him. It 
has been decreed otherwise ; but I know that I shall linger here only a 
short time, and shall soon follow him. 

And how brief, how short is the period of human existence allotted 
even to the youngest amongst us ? Sir, ought we not to profit by the 
contemplation of this melancholy occasion ? Ought we not to draw 
from it the conclusion how unwise it is to indulge in the acerbity of 
unbridled debate ? How uuwnse to yield ourselves to the sway of the 
animosities of party feeling ? How wrong it .is to indulge in those 
unhappy and hot strifes which too often exasperate our feelings and 
mislead our judgments in the discharge of the high and responsible 
duties which we are called to perform ? How unbecoming, if not pre- 
sumptuous, it is in us, who are the tenants of an hour in this earthly 
abode, to wrestle and struggle together with a violence which would 
not be justifiable if it were our perpetual home ! 

In conclusion, sir, while I beg leave to express my cordial sympathies 
and sentiments of the deepest condolence towards all who stand in near 
relation to him, I trust we shall all be instructed by the eminent virtues 
and merits of his exalted character, and be taught by his bright ex- 
ample to fulfil our great public duties by the lights of our own judgment 
and the dictates of our own consciences, as he did, according to his 
honest and best comprehensions of those duties, faithfully and to the 
last. 

Mr. Webster. — I hope the Senate will indulge me in adding a very 
few words to what has been said. My apology for this presumption is 
the very long acquaintance which has subsisted between Mr. Calhoun 
and myself. We are of the same age. I made my first entrance into 
the House of Representatives in May, 1813, and there found Mr. 
Calhoun. He had already been in that body for two or three years. 
I found him then an active and efficient member of the assembly to 
which he belonged, taking a decided part, and exercising a decided 
influence, in all its deliberations. 

From that day to the day of his death, amidst all the strifes of party 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 11 

and politics, tliere has subsisted between us, always, and without inter- 
ruption, a great degree of personal kindness. 

Differing widely on many great questions respecting the institutions 
and government of the country, those differences never interrupted our 
personal and social intercourse. I have been present at most of the 
distiuo-uished instances of the exhibition of his talents in debate. I 
have always heard him with pleasure, often with much instruction, not 
unfrequently with the highest degree of admiration. 

Mr. Calhoun was calculated to be a leader in whatsoever association 
of political friends he was thrown. He was a man of undoubted genius 
and of commanding talent. All the country and the world admit that. 

His mind was both perceptive and vigorous. It was clear, quick, 

and strong. 

Sir, the eloquence of Mr. Calhoun, or the manner of his exhibition 
of his sentiments in public bodies, was part of his intellectual character. 
It "Tew out of the nualities of his mind. It was plain, strong, terse, 
condensed, concise; sometimes impassioned, still always severe. Re- 
jecting ornament, not often seeking far for illustration, his power con- 
sisted in the plainness of his propositions, in the closeness of his logic, 
and in the earnestness and energy of his manner. These are the 
qualities, as I think, which have enabled him, through such a long 
course of years, to speak often, and yet always command attention. 
His demeanor as a Senator is known to us all — is appreciated, vene- 
rated by us all. No man was more respectful to others; no man carried 
himself with greater decorum, no man with superior dignity. I think 
there is not one of us but felt, when he last addressed us from his seat 
in the Senate, his form still erect, with a voice by no means indicating 
such a degree of physical weakness as did, in fact, possess him, with 
clear tones, and an impressive, and, I may say, an imposing manner, 
who did not feel that he might imagine that we saw before us a Senator 
of Rome, when Rome survived. 

Sir, I have not in public nor in private life known a more assiduous 
person in the discharge of his appropriate duties. I have known no 
man who wasted less of life in what is called recreation, or employed 
less of it in any pursuits not connected with the immediate discharge 
of his duty. He seemed to have no recreation but the pleasure of con- 
versation with his friends. Out of the chambers of Congress, he was 
either devoting himself to the acquisition of knowledge pertaining to the 
immediate subject of the duty before him, or else he was indulging in 
those social interviews in which he so much delighted. 

My honorable friend from Kentucky has spoken in just terms of his 



12 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

colloquial talents. They certainly were singular and eminent. There 
was a charm in his conversation not often found. He delighted espe- 
cially in conversation and intercourse with young men. I suppose that 
there has been no man among us who had more winning manners, in 
such an intercourse and conversation with men comparatively young, 
than Mr. Calhoun. I believe one great power of his character, in 
genei-al, was his conversational talent. I believe it is that, as well as a 
consciousness of his high integrity, and the greatest reverence for his 
intellect and ability, that has made him so endeared an object to the 
people of the State to which he belonged. 

Mr. President, he had the basis, the indispensable basis, of all high 
character; and that was, unspotted integrity — unimpeached honor and 
character. If he had aspirations, they were high, honorable and noble. 
There was nothing groveling, or low, or meanly selfish, that came near 
the head or the heart of Mr. Calhoun. Firm in his purpose, perfectly 
patriotic and honest, as I am sure he was, in the principles that he 
espoused, and in the measures that he defended, aside from that large 
regard for that species of distinction that conducted him to eminent 
stations for the benefit of the republic, I do not believe he had a selfish 
motive, or selfish feeling. 

However, sir, he may have differed from others of us in his political 
opinions, or his political principles, those principles and those opinions 
will now descend to posterity under the sanction of a great name. He 
has lived long enough, he has done enough, and he has done it so well, 
so successfully, so honorably, as to connect himself for all time with the 
records of his country. He is now a historical character. Those of us 
who have known him here, will find that he has left upon our minds 
and our hearts a strong and lasting impression of his person, his char- 
acter, and his public performances, which, while we live, will never be 
obliterated. We shall, hereafter, I am sure, indulge in it as a grateful 
recollection that we have lived in his age, that we have been his 
cotemporaries, that we have seen him, and heard him, and known hii^^- 
We shall delight to speak of him to those who are rising up to fill our 
places. And, when the time shall come when we ourselves shall go, 
one after another, in succession, to our graves, we shall carry with us a 
deep sense of his genius and character, his honor and integrity, his 
amiable deportment in private life, and the purity of his exalted 
patriotism. 

Mr. Rusk. — Mr. President : I hope it will not be considered in- 
appropriate for me to say a word upon this solemn occasion. Being a 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 18 

native of the same State with the distinguished Souator whose death 
has cast such a gloom upon this Senate and the audience here assembled, 
I had the good fortvine, at an early period of my life, to make liis 
acquaintance. At that time he was just entering on that bright career 
wliich has now terminated. I was then a boy, with prospects anything 
but flattering. To him, at that period, I was indebted for words of 
kindness and encouragement j and often since, in the most critical 
positions in which I have been placed, a recurrence to those words of 
encouragement has inspired me with resolution to meet difficulties that 
beset my path. Four years ago, I had the pleasure of renewing that 
acquaintance, after an absence of some fifteen years; and this took place 
after he had taken an active part in the question of annexing Texas to 
the United States, adding a new sense of obligation to my feeling of 
gratitude. 

In the stirring questions that have agitated the country, it was my 
misfortune sometimes to differ from him, but it is a matter of heartfelt 
gratification for me to know that our personal relations remained unal- 
tered. And, sir, it will be a source of pleasant though sad reflection to 
me, throughout life, to remember, that on that last day on which he 
occupied his seat in this chamber, his body worn down by disease, but 
his mind as vigorous as ever, we held a somewhat extended conversation 
on the exciting topics of the day, in which the same kind feelings, 
which had so strongly impressed me in youth, were still mainifested 
toward me by the veteran statesman. But, sir, he is gone from among 
us; his voice will never again be heard in this chamber; his active and 
vigorous mind will participate no more in our councils ; his spirit has 
left a world of trouble, care, and anxiety, to join the spirits of those 
patriots and statesmen who have preceded him to a brighter and better 
world. If, as many believe, the spirits of the departed hover around 
the places they have left, I earnestly pray that his may soon be permit- 
ted to look back upon our country, which he has left in excitement, 
confusion, and apprehension, restored to calmness, security, and frater- 
nal feeling, as broad as the bounds of our Union, and as fixed as the 
eternal principles of justice in which our Government has its foundation. 

Mr. Clemens. — I do not expect, Mr. President, to add anything to 
what has already been said of the illustrious man, whose death we all 
so deeply deplore; but silence upon an occasion likg this, would by no 
means meet the expectations of those whose representative I am. To 
borrow a figure from the Senator from Kentucky, the brightest star in 
the brilliant galaxy of the Union has gone out, and Alabama claims a 



14 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

place among the chief mourners over the event. DiflFeriug often from 
the great Southern statesman on questions of public policy, she has yet 
always accorded due homage to his genius, and still more to that blame- 
less purity of life which entitles him to the highest and the noblest 
epitaph which can be graven upon a mortal tomb. For more than forty 
years an active participant in all the fierce struggles of party, and svir- 
rounded by those corrupting influences to which the politician is so 
often subjected, his personal character remained not only untarnished, 
but unsuspected. He walked through the flames, and even the hem of 
his garment was unscorched. 

It is no part of my purpose to enter into a recital of the public acts 
of John C. Calhoun. It has already been partly done by his colleague; 
but, even that, in my judgment, was unnecessary. Years after the cele- 
brated battle of Thermopylae, a traveller, on visiting the spot, found a 
monument with the simple inscription, " Stranger, go tell at Lacedae- 
mon, that we died in obedience to her laws." " Why is it," he asked, 
"that the names of those who fell here are not inscribed on the stone?" 
" Because/' was the proud reply, " it is impossible that any Greek 
should ever foi'get them." Even so it is with him of whom I speak. 
His acts are graven on the hearts of his countrymen, and time has no 
power to obliterate the characters. Throughout this broad land 

"The meanest rill, the miplitiest river, 
Rolls ming'ing with his fame forever." 

Living, sir, in an age distinguished above all others for its intelli- 
gence, surrounded throughout his whole career by men, any one of 
whom would have marked an era in the world's history, and stamped 
the time in which he lived with immortality, Mr. Calhoun yet won an 
intellectual eminence, and commanded an admiration not only unsur- 
passed but unequalled, in all its parts, by any of his giant compeers. 
That great light is now extinguished ; a place in this Senate is made 
vacant which cannot be filled. The sad tidings have been borne upon 
the lightning's wing to the remotest corners of the Republic, and mil- 
lions of freemen are now mourning with us over all that is left of one 
who was scarcely " lower than the angels." 

I may be permitted, Mr. President, to express my gratification at 
what we have heard and witnessed this day. Kentucky has been heard 
through the lips o^one who is not only her greatest statesman, but the 
world's greatest living orator. The great expounder of the constitution, 
whose massive intellect seems to comprehend and give clearness to all 
things beneath the sun, has spoken for the Commonwealth of Massa- 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 15 

chusetts. From every quarter the voice of mourning; is mingled with 
notes of the highest admiration. These crowded galleries, the distin- 
guished gentlemen who fill this floor, all indicate that here have 

'* Bards, art'sts, sages, revprently met, 

Tn waive each separating plea 

Of si^ct, clime, party, au'l degree. 

All hon rii'g him on whom nature all honor shed." 

The resolutions were then unanimously adopted. 



Tuesday, April 2, 1850. 
The remains of the deceased were brought into the Senate at 12 
o'clock, attended by the Committee of Arrangements and the Pall- 
bearers. 

Committee of Arrangements. 
Mr. Mason, Mr. Dodge, of Wisconsin, 

Mr. Davis, of Mississippi, Mr. Dickinson, 

Mr. Atchison, Mr. GtReene. 

Pall- Bearers. 

Mr. Mangum, , Mr. Cass, 

Mr. Clay, Mr. King, 

Mr. Webster, Mr. Berrien. 

The funeral cortege left the Senate chamber for the Congressional 
Burial-Ground, where the body was temporarily deposited, in the fol- 
lowing order : 

The Chaplains of both Houses of Congress. 

Physicians who attended the deceased. 

Committee of Arrangements. 

Pall-Bearers. 

The family and friends of the deceased. 

The Senator and Representatives from the State of South Carolina, as 

mourners. 

The Serseant-at-Arms. of the Senate of the United States. 

The Senate of the United States, preceded by the Vice President of 

the United States and their Secretary. 

The Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives. 

The House of Representatives, preceded by their Speaker and Clerk. 

The President of the United States. 



16 IHE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

The Heads of Departments. 
The Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the 

United States and its officers. 

The Diplomatic Corps. 

Judges of the United States. 

Officers of the Executive Departments. 

Officers of the Army and Navy. 

The Mayor and Councils of Washington. 

Citizens and Strangers. 



BUTLER'S SERMON. 



A Sermon preached in the Senate Chamber, April 2, 1850, at the Funeral of the 
Hon. John C. Calhoun, Senator of the United States from South Carolina. 
By the Rev. C. M. Butler, D. D., Chaplain of the Senate. 

I have said ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High ; but ye shall die like men, 
and fall like one of the princes. — Psalm Ixxxii : 6-7. 

One of the princes is fallen ! A prince in intellect; a prince in his 
sway over human hearts and minds ; a prince in the wealth of his own 
generous affections, and in the rich revenues of admiring love poured 
into his heart ; a prince in the dignity of his demeanor — this prince 
has fallen — fallen! 

And ye all, his friends and peers, illustrious statesmen, orators, and 
warriors — " I have said ye are gods, and all of you are children of the 
Most High; hut ye shall die like men, and fall like this one of the 
princes !" 

The praises of the honored dead have been, here and elsewhere, fitly 
spoken. The beautifully blended benignity, dignity, simplicity and 
purity of the husband, the father, and the friend; the integrity, 
sagacity, and energy of the statesman ; the compressed intenseness, the 
direct and rapid logic of the orator; all these have been vividly por- 
trayed by those who themselves illustrate what they describe. There 
seem still to linofcr around this hall echoes of the voices which have so 
faithfully sketched the life, so happily discriminated the powers, and 
so affectionately eulogized the virtues of the departed, that the muse of 
history will note down the words, as the outline of her future lofty 
narrative, her nice analysis, and her glowing praise. 

But the echo of those eulogies dies away. All that was mortal of 
their honored object lies here unconscious in the theatre of his glory. 
''Lord of the lion heart and eagle eye," — there he lies! that strong 
heart still, that bright eye dim ! Another voice claims your ear. The 
minister of Grod, standing over the dead, is sent to say — "Ye are gods, 
and all of you are children of the Most High; but ye shall die like 
men, and fall like one of the princes." He is sent to remind you that 
there are those here, not visible to the eye of sense, who are greater 
9 



18 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

than the greatest of ye all — even Death, and Death's Lord and 
Master. 

Death is here. I see him stand over his prostrate victim, and grimly 
smile, and shake at us liis unsated spear, and bid us all attend this day 
on him. He is King to-day, and leads us all captive in his train, to swell 
his triumph and proclaim his power. And there is no visitant that can 
stand before the soul of man, with such claims on his awed, intent, 
and teachable attention. When, as on a day, and in a scene like this, 
he holds us in his presence and bids us hear him — who can dare to 
disregard his mandate ? Oh, there is no thought or fact, having reference 
to this brief scene of things, however it may come with a port and 
tone of dignity and power, which does not dwindle into meanness, in 
the presence of that great thought, that great fact, which has entered 
and darkened the Capitol to-day — Death ! To make us see that by a 
law perfectly inevitable and irresistible, soul and body are soon to sepa- 
rate; that this busy scene of earth is to be suddenly and forever left; 
that this human heart is to break through the circle of warm, con- 
genial, familiar and fostering sympathies and associations, and to put 
off, all alone, into the silent dark — this is the object of the dread 
message to us of death. And as that message is spoken to a soul 
which is conscious of sin ; which knows that it has not within itself 
resources for self-purification, and self-sustaining peace and joy; which 
realizes, in the very core of its conscience, retribution as amoral law; it 
comes fraught with the unrest, which causes it to be at once dismissed, 
or which lodges it in the soul, a visitant whose first coming is gloom, 
but whose continued presence shall be glory. Then the anxious spirit, 
peering out with inteuse earnestness in the dark unknown, may, in 
vain, question earth of the destiny of the soul, and lift to heaven the 
passionate invocation : 

"Answer me, burning stai'S of night, 

Where hath the spirit gone ; 
Which, past the reach of mortal sight, 

E'en as a breeze hath flown?" 

And the stars answer him, *' We roll 

In pomp and power on high; 
But of the never dying soul. 

Ask things that cannot die!" 

"Things that cannot die!" God only can tell us of the spirit- 
world. He assures us, by his Son, that death is the child of sin. He 
tells us what is the power of this king of terrors. He shows us that 
in sinuiu- "Adam all die." He declares to us that, sinful by nature 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 19 

and by practice, we are condemned to death; that we are consigned to 
woe; that we are unfit for Heaven; that the condition of the soul 
which remains thus condemned and unchanged, is far drearier and 
more dreadful beyond, than this side, the grave. No wonder that men 
shrink from converse with death; for all his messages are woful and 
appalling. 

But, thanks be to Clod ! though death be here, so also is death's 
Lord and Master. "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be 
made alive." That Saviour, Christ, assures us that all who repent, 
and forsake their sins, and believe in him, and live to him, shall rise 
to a life glorious and eternal, with Him, and His, in Heaven. He tells 
us that if we are his, those sharp shafts which death rattles in our ears 
to-day, shall but transfix, and only for a season, the garment of our 
mortality; and that the emancipated spirits of the righteous shall be 
borne, on angel wings, to that peaceful paradise where they shall enjoy 
perpetual rest and felicity. Then it need not be a gloomy message 
which we deliver to you to-day, that "ye shall die as men and fall like 
one of the princes;" for it tells us that the humblest of men may be 
made equal to the angels, and that earth's princes may become "kings 
and priests unto Grod I" 

In the presence of these simplest yet grandest truths; with these 
thoughts of death, and the conqueror of death ; with this splendid 
trophy of his power proudly held up to our view by death, I need utter 
to you no common-place on the vanity of our mortal life, the inevitable- 
ness of its termination, and the solemnities of our after-being. Here 
and now, on this theme, the silent dead is preaching to you more im- 
pressively than could the most eloquent of the living. You feel now, 
in your inmost heart, that that great upper range of things with which 
you are connected as immortals; that moral administration of God, 
who stretches over the infinite of existence ; that magnificent system of 
ordered governments, to whose lower circle we now belong, which 
consists of thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, which rise, 

"Orb o'er orb, and height o'er height," 

to the enthroned Supreme; you feel that this, your high relation to the 
Infinite and Eternal, makes jjoor and low the most august and imposing 
scenes and dignities of earth, which flit, like shadows, through your 
three-score years and ten. Oh, happy will it be, if the vivid sentiment 
of the hour become the actuating conviction of the life ! Happy will 
it be, if it take its place in the centre of the soul, and inform all its 
thoughts, feelings, principles, and aims ! Then shall this lower system 



20 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

of human things be consciously linked to, and become part of, and take 
glory from that spiritual sphere, which, all unseen, encloses tis, whose 
actoi-s and heroes are "angels and archangels, and all the company of 
Heaven." Then would that be permanently and habitually felt by all, 
which was here, and in the other chamber yesterday so eloquently ex- 
pressed, that "vain are the personal strifes and party contests in which 
you daily eng-age, in view of the great account which you may all so 
soon be called upon to render;"* and that it is unbecoming and pre- 
sumptuous in those who are "the tenants of an hour in this earthly 
abode, to wrestle and struggle together with a violence which would 
not be justifiable if it were yoiir perpetual home."f Then, as we see 
to-day, the sister States, by their Representatives, linked hand in hand, 
in mournful attitude, around the bier of one in whose fame they all 
claim a share, we should look upon you as engaged in a sacrament of 
religious patriotism, whose spontaneous, unpremeditated vow, springing 
consentient from all your hearts, and going up unitedly to Heaven, 
would be — "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!" 
But I must no longer detain you. May we all 

" So live, that when our summons comes to join 

The innumerable caravan, that moves 

To that mysterious realm, where each shall take 

His chamber in the silent halls of death. 

We go not like the quarry-slave at night 

Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed 

Cy an unfaltering trust, approach our grave 

Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 

About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 

* Mr. Winthrop's speech in the House of Representatives, 
f Mr. Clay's speech in the Senate. 



proceedings in the senate of the united states. 21 

In the Senate of the United States, 

April 3, 1850. 

Resolved, As a mark of the respect entertained by the Senate for 
the memory of the late John Caldwell Calhoun, a Senator from 
South Carolina, and for his long and distinguished service in the 
Public Councils, that his remains be moved at the pleasure of his sur- 
viving family, in charge of the Sergeant-at-Arms, and attended by a 
committee of the Senate, to the place designated for their interment, 
in the bosom of his native State; and that such committee, to consist 
of six Senators, be appointed by the President of the Senate, who 
shall have full power to carry the foregoing resolution into effect. 

(Attest.) ASBURY DICKINS, Secretary. 



In the Senate op the United States, 

April 4, 1850. 
In pursuance of the foregoing resolution, 
Mr. Mason, Mr. Webster, 

Mr. Davis, of Mississippi, Mr. Dickinson, and 

Mr. Berrien, Mr. Dodge, of Iowa, 

were appointed the committee. 

(Attest.) ASBURY DICKINS, Secretary. 



In the Senate op the United States, . 

April 9, 1850. 
Mr. Webster having been, on his motion, excused from serving on 
the committee to attend the remains of the late John C. Calhoun to 
the State of South Carolina : On motion by Mr. Mason, 

Ordered, That a member be appointed by the Vice President to 
supply the vacancy, and Mr. Clarke was appointed. 

(Attest.) ASBUBY DICKINS, Secretary. 



In the Senate of the United States, 

April 3, 1850. 
Resolved, That the Vice President be requested to communicate to 
the Executive of the State of South Carolina, information of the death 
of the Hon. John C. Calhoun, late a Senator from the said State. 

(Attest.) ASBURY DICKINS, Secretary. 



22 the carolina tribute to calhoun. 

Senate Chamber, 

April 3, 1850. 
Sir : In pursviance of a resolution of the Senate, a copy of which is 
enclosed, it becomes my duty to communicate to you the painful intel- 
lio-ence of the decease of the Hon. John Caldwell Calhoun, late a 
Senator of the United States from the State of South Carolina, who 
died in this city, the 31st ultimo. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your obedient servant, 
MILLAKD FILLMORE, 
Vice. President of the United States, and 

President of the Senate. 
His Excellency , 

Governor of the State of South Carolina, Cohimhia. 



Senate of the United States, 
Washington City, April 4, 1850. 
To His Excellency, Whitemarsh B. Seahrooh, 

Governor of South Carolina. 
Sir : I have the honor to make known to you, that a committee of 
the Senate has been appointed to attend the remains of their late 
honored associate, Mr. Calhoun, to the place that may be designated 
for his interment in his native State, when the surviving family shall 
express a wish for their removal. 

It is desirable to the committee to know whether this removal is con- 
templated by them ; and should it be, that they be informed as soon as 
may be (but entirely at the convenience of the family) when they may 
desire it. 

Knowing the deep interest that will be taken by the State of South 
Carolina in the matter spoken of, I take the liberty, by this note, of 
asking that you will at proper time learn what may be necessary to 
answer the foregoing inquiry, and apprise me, as Chairman of the Com- 
mittee, a few days in advance. 

With great respect, 

I have the honor to be, 

&c. &e. &c, 

J. M. MASON. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 23 

Washington, April 16, 1850. 
His Excellency^ Whifemarsh B. Seahrook, 

Governor- of South Carolina. 
Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
the 11th inst., handed to me by Mr. llavenel ; and on behalf of my 
associates on the committee of the Senate and of myself, to accept the 
hospitalities you have kindly proffered to us on behalf of the State, on 
(tur arrival in South Carolina. 

We are directed, by the order of the Senate, to attend the remains of 
Mr. Calhoun "to the place designated for their interment in his na- 
tive State" — a duty we expect strictly to discharge, and are gratified to 
find by your communication, that it will be in accordance with the 
wishes of your fellow citizens of Carolina. 

Mr. Ravenel, of the committee of South Carolina, will have apprized 
you of the time of our probable arrival in Charleston, which we learn 
will be on Thursday, the 25th of this month. 
With great respect, 

I have the honor to be, 

&c. &c. &c. 

J. M. MASON, Chair. Com. Senate. 



PROCEEDINGS 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 



In the House op Representatives, 

Washington, April 1, 1850. 

Mr. Vinton, rising, said that tlie House might soon expect to 
receive the usual message from the Senate, announcing the melancholy 
event occurring yesterday, (the death of the honorable Senator Cal- 
houn.) Instead of proceeding with the ordinary business of legislation, 
he would therefore move the suspension of the rules, that the House 
might take a recess until the Senate were ready to make that commu- 
nication. 

The question on this motion being put, it was unanimously agreed to. 

So the House then took a recess until one o'clock and ten minutes, 
p. m., at which hour the Secretary of the Senate, Mr. Dickins, appear- 
ing at the bar, 

The Speaker called the House to order. 

The Secretary of the Senate then announced that he had been 
directed to communicate to the House information of the death of John 
C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, late a Senator from the State of South 
Carolina, and delivered the resolutions adopted by the Senate on the 
occasion. 

Mr. Holmes, of South Carolina, rose and addressed the House as 
follows : 

It becomes, Mr. Speaker, my solemn duty to announce to this House 
the decease of the honorable John C Calhoun, a Senator of the State 
of South Carolina. He expired at his lodgings in this city yesterday 
morning, at seven o'clock. He lives no longer among the living; he 
sleeps the sleep of a long night which knows no dawning. The sun 
which rose so brightly on this morning, brought to him no healing in 
its beams. 

We, the Representatives of our State, come to sorrow over the dead j 
but the virtue and the life and the services of the deceased, were not 
confined by metes and bounds ; but standing on the broad expanse of 
this Confederacy, he gave his genius to the States, and his heart to his 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 25 

entire country. Carolina will not, therefore, be suffered to mourn her 
honored son in secret cells and solitary shades ; but her sister States 
will gather around her in this palace of the nation, and bending over 
that bier, weep as she weeps, and mourn with the deep, afflictive 
mourning of her heart. Yes, sir, her honored son — honored in the 
associations of his birth, which occurred when the echoes and the 
shouts of freedom had not yet died along his native hills, born of parents 
who had partaken of the toils, been affected by the struggles, and 
fought in the battles for liberty — seemed as if he were baptized in the 
very fount of freedom. Reared amid the hardy scenery of nature, and 
amid the stern, pious, and reserved population, unseduced yet by the 
temptations, and unnerved by the luxuries of life, he gathered from 
surrounding objects and from the people of his association, that peculiar 
hue and coloring which so transcendently marked his life. Unfettered 
by the restraints of the school house, he wandered in those regions 
which surrounded his dwelling, unmolested, and indulged those solitary 
thoughts, in rambling through her mighty forests, which gave that 
peculiar cast of thinking and reflection to his mighty soul. He was 
among a people who knew but few books, and over whose minds learn- 
ing had not yet thrown its effulgence. But they had the Bible ; and 
with his pious parents, he gathered rich lore, which surpasses that of 
Greek or Roman story. At an age when youths are generally prepared 
to scan the classics, he was yet uninitiated in their rudiments. Under 
the tuition of the venerable Doctor Waddel, his relative and friend, he 
quickly acquired what that gentleman was able to impart, and even then 
began to develop those mighty powers of clear perception, rapid analysis, 
quick comprehension, vast generalization, for which he was subsequently 
so eminently distinguished. He remained but a very short time at his 
school, and returned again to his rustic employments. But the spirit 
had been awakened — the inspiration had come like to a spirit from on 
high ; and he felt that within him were found treasures that learning 
was essential to unfold. He gathered up his patrimony, he hastened to 
the College of Yale, and there, under the tuition of that accomplished 
scholar and profound theologian, Rev. Dr. Dwight, he became in a short 
period, the first among the foremost, indulging not in the enjoyments, 
in the luxuries, and the dissipations of a college life, but with toil 
severe, with energy unbending, with devotion to his studies, he became 
(to use the language of a contemporary) "a man among boys." In a 
conflict intellectual with his great master, the keen eye of Dr. Dwight 
discerned the great qualifications which marked the man, and prophe- 
sied the honors that have fallen in his pathway. He was solitary, and 



26 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

associated not much witli his class. He indulged his propensity to soli- 
tude; he walked among the elms that surround that ancient college j 
and in the cells, in the secret shades of that institution, he felt that 
dawning on his mind which was to precede the brighter and the greater 
day; and raising himself from the materiality around him, he soared on 
the wings of contemplation to heights sublime, and wending his flight 
along the zodiac, raised his head among the stars. The honors of the 
college became his meed, and departing thence with the blessings and 
the benedictions of his venerable instructor, he repaired for a short 
period to the school of Litchfield, and there imbibed those principles of 
the common law, based upon the rights of man, and throwing a cordou 
around the British and the American citizen. He left, and upon his 
return home was greeted by the glowing presence of his friends, who 
had heard from a distance the glad tidings of his studies and his suc- 
cess. He took at once his position among his neighbors. He was sent 
by them to the councils of the State; and there, amid the glittering 
array of lofty intellects and ennobled characters, he became first among 
the first. 

But that sphere was too limited for the expansibility of a mind 
which seemed to know no limit but the good of all mankind. At the 
age of twenty-eight, he was transferred to this hall. He came not, sir, 
to a bower of ease; he came not in the moment of a sunshine of tran- 
quillity; he came when the country was disturbed by dissension from 
within, and pressed out by the great powers of Europe, then contend- 
ing for the mastery of the world, and uniting and harmonizing in this, 
and this alone — the destruction of American institutions, the annihila- 
tion of American trade. The whole country (boy as I then was, I 
well remember,) seemed as if covered with an eternal gloom. The 
spirits of the best men seemed crushed amid that pressure, and the 
eye of hope scarce found consolation in any prospect of the future. 
But he had not been long in these halls, before he took the guage and 
measurement of the depth of these calamities, and the compass of its 
breadth. He applied himself most vigorously to the application of the 
remedies to so vital a disease. He found that mistaken policy had 
added to the calamities on the ocean, that still further calamity of fet- 
tering, with a restrictive system, the very motions and energies of the 
people. He looked down and saw that there was a mighty pressure, a 
o-reat weight upon the resources of this country, which time had gradu- 
ally increased, and he resolved at once — with that resolution which 
characterized him — with that energy which impelled him direct to his 
purpose — to advise what was considered a remedy too great almost for 



PROCEEDTXfIS IN THE HOUSE OE REPRESENTATIVES. 27 

the advice of any other — once, weak as we were in numbers, unprepared 
as we were in arms, diminished as were our resources, to bid defiance 
to Britain, and assume the attitude of a conflicting nation for its 
rights. 

Fortunately for the country that advice was taken, and then the 
great spirit of America, released from her shackles, burst up and made 
her leave her incumbent, prostrate condition, and stand erect before 
the people of the world, and shake her spear in bold defiance. In that 
war, his counsels contributed as much, I am informed, as those of any 
man, to its final success. At a period when our troops on the frontier, 
under the command of the Grovernor of New York, were about to retire 
from the line, and that Grovernor had written to Mr. Madison that he 
had exhausted his own credit, and the credit of all those whose 
resources he could command, and his means were exhausted, and, unless 
in a short period money was sent on to invigorate the troops, the war 
must end, and our country bow down to a victoi'ious foe ; sir, upon that 
occasion, Mr. Madison became so disheartened, that he assembled his 
counsellors, and asked for advice and aid, but advice and aid they had 
not to give. At length Mr. Dallas, the Secretary of the Treasury, said 
to Mr, Madison — you are sick; retire to your chamber; leave the rest 
to us. I will send to the Capitol for the youthful Hercules, who hitherto 
has borne the war upon his shoulders, and he will counsel us a remedy. 
Mr. Calhoun came. He advised an appeal to the States for the loan 
of their credit. It seemed as if a new light had burst upon the Cabi- 
net. His advice was taken. The States generously responded to the 
appeal. These were times of fearful import. We were engaged in 
war with a nation whose resources were ample, while ours were crippled. 
Our ships-of-war, few in number, were compelled to go forth on the 
broad bosom of the deep, to encounter those fleets which had signalized 
themselves at the battles of Aboukir and Trafalgar, and annihilated 
the combined navies of France and Spain. But there was an inward 
strength — there was an undying confidence — in the hearts of a free 
people; and they went forth to battle and to conquest. 

Sir, the clang of arms and the shouts of victory had scarcely died 
along the dark waters of the Niagara — the war upon the plains of 
Orleans had just gone out with a blaze of glory — when all eyes were 
instinctively turned to this youthful patriot, who had rescued his 
country in the dark hour of her peril. Mr. Monroe transferred him to 
his Cabinet ; and upon that occasion, so confused was the Department 
of War, so complicated and disordered, that Mr. Wm. Lowndes, a 
friend to Mr. Calhoun, advised him against risking the high honors 



28 THK CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

he had achieved upon this floor, for the uncertain victories of an Ex- 
ecutive position. But no man had pondered more thoroughly the 
depths of his own mind and the purposes of his own heart — none 
knew so well the undaunted resolution and energy that always charac- 
terized him ; and he resolved to accept, and did. He related to me 
what was extremely characteristic; he went into the Department, but 
became not of it for awhile. He gave no directions — he let the ma- 
chinery move on by its own impetus. In the meantime he gathered, 
with that minuteness which characterized him, all the facts connected 
with the working of the machinery — with that power of generalization 
which was so remarkable, combined together in one system all the 
detached parts, instituted the bureaus, imparting individual responsi- 
bility to each, and requiring from them that responsibility in turn, but 
uniting them all in beautiful harmony, and creating in the workings a 
perfect unity. And so complete did that work come from his hands, 
that at this time there has been no change material in this department. 
It has passed through the ordeal of another war, and it still remains 
fresh, and without symptoms of decay. He knew that if we were to 
have wars, we should have the science to conduct them ; and he there- 
fore directed his attention to West Point, which, fostered by his care, 
became the great school of tactics and of military discipline, the 
benefits of which have so lately been experienced in the Mexican 
campaign. 

But, sir, having finished this work, his mind instinctively looked 
for some other great object on which to exercise its powers. He 
beheld the Indian tribes, broken down by the pressure and the ad- 
vances of civilization, wasting away before the vices, and acquiring 
none of the virtues, of the white man. His heart expanded with a 
philanthropy as extensive as t/ie human race. He immediately con- 
ceived the project of collecting them into one nation, of transferring 
them to the other side of the great river, and freeing them at once from 
the temptations and the cupidity of the Christian man. 

Sir, he did not remain in office to accomplish this great object. But 
he had laid its foundation so deep, he had spread out his plans so 
broad, that he has reared to himself, in the establishment of that 
people, a brighter monument, more glorious trophies, than can be 
plucked upon the plains of war. The triumphs of war are marked by 
desolated towns and conflagrated fields ; his triumphs will be seen in 
the collection of the Indian tribes, constituting a confederation among 
themselves, in the school-houses in the valleys, in the churches that 
rise with their spires from the hill-top, in the clear sunshine of Heaven. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES. 20 

The music of that triumph is not heard in the clangor of the trumpet, 
and the rolling of the drum, but swells from the clang of the anvil, 
and the tones of the water-wheel, and the cadence of the mill-stream, 
that rolls down for the benefit of the poor red man. 

Sir, he paused not in his career of usefulness; he was transferred, 
by the votes of a grateful people, to the chair of the second ofiice of the 
government. There he presided with a firmness, an impartiality, with 
a gentleness, with a dignity, that all admired. And yet it is not given 
unto man to pass unscathed the fiery furnace of this world. While 
presiding over that body of ambassadors from sovereign States, while 
regulating their councils, the tongue of calumny assailed him, and 
accused him of official corruption in the Riprap contract. Indignantly 
he left the chair, demanded of the Senators an immediate investigation 
by a committee, and came out of the fire like gold refined in the furnace. 
From that time to the day that terminated his life, no man dared to 
breathe aught against the spotless purity of his character. 

But while in that chair, Mr. Calhoun perceived that there was 
arising a great and mighty influence to overshadow a portion of this 
land. From a patriotic devotion to his country, he consented on this 
floor, in 1816, upon the reduction of the war duties, to a gradual dimi- 
nution of the burdens, and thus saved the manufacturers from annihila- 
tion. But that interest, then a mere stripling, weak, and requiring 
nurture, fostered by this aliment, soon increased in strength, and became 
potent, growing with a giant's growth, and attained a giant's might, 
and was inclined tyrannously to use it as a giant. He at once resigned 
his seat, gave up his dignified position, mingled in the strifes of the 
arena, sounded the tocsin of alarm, waked up the attention of the 
South, himself no less active than those whom he thus aroused, and at 
length advised his own State, heedless of danger, to throw herself into 
the breach for the protection of that sacred Constitution, whose every 
precept he had imbibed, whose every condition he had admired. Sir, 
although hostile fleets floated in our waters, and armies threatened our 
cities, he quailed not; and at length the pleasing realization came to 
him and to the country, like balm to the wounded feelings, and by a 
generous compromise on all parts, the people of the South were freed 
from onerous taxation, and the North yet left to enjoy the fruits of her 
industry, and to progress in her glorious advancement in all that is 
virtuous in industry and elevafed in sentiment. 

But he limited not his scope to our domestic horizon. He looked 
abroad at our relations with the nations. He saw our increase of 
strength. He measured our resources, and was willing at once to settle 



80 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

all our difficulties with foreign powers on a permanent basis. With 
Britain we had causes of contention, of deep and long standing. He 
resolved, if the powers of his intellect could avail ought before he de- 
parted hence, that these questions should be settled for a nation's honor 
and a nation's safety. He faltered not. I know (for I was present) 
that when the Ashburton treaty was about to be made — when there 
were apprehensions in the cabinet that it would not be sanctioned by 
the Senate — a member of that cabinet called to consult Mr. Calhoun, 
and to ask if he would give it his generous support. The reply of Mr. 
Calhoun at that moment was eminently satisfactory, and its annunci- 
ation to the cabinet gave assurance to the distinguished Secretary of 
State, who so eminently had conducted this important negotiation. He 
at once considered the work as finished; for it is the union of action in 
the intellectual, as in the physical world, that moves the spheres into 
harmony. 

When the treaty was before the Senate, it was considered in secret 
session ; and I never shall forget, that sitting upon yonder side of the 
House, the colleague of Mr. Calhoun — who at that time was not on 
social terms with him — my friend, the honorable Mr. Preston, whose 
heart throbbed with an enthusiastic love of all that is elevated — left his 
seat in the Senate, and came to my seat in the House, saying " I must 
give vent to my feelings : Mr. Calhoun has made a speech which has 
settled the question of the Northeastern boundary. All his friends — 
nay, all the Senators — have collected around to congratulate him, and I 
have come out to express my emotions, and declare that he has covered 
himself with a mantle of glory." 

Sir, after a while, he retired from Congress ; but the unfortunate 
accident on board the Princeton, which deprived Virginia of two of her 
most gifted sons, members of the cabinet, immediately suggested the 
recall of Mr. Calhoun from his retirement in private life, and the 
shades of his own domicil, to aid the country in a great exigency. His 
nomination as Secretary of State was sent to the Senate, and, without 
reference to a committee, was unanimously confirmed. Sir, when he 
arrived here, he perceived that the Southern country was in imminent 
peril, and that the arts and intrigues of Great Britain were about to 
wrest from us that imperial territory which is now the State of Texas. 
By his wisdom, and the exercise of his great administrative talents, the 
intrigues of Great Britain were defeated, and that portion of the sunny 
South was soon annexed to this Republic. 

With the commencement of Mr. Polk's administration, lie retired 
once more from public life, but he retired voluntarily. Mr. Buchanan 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES. 31 

•(for I might as well relate the fact) called upon me, took me to the em- 
brasure of one of those windows, and said : " I am to be Secretary of 
State ; the President appreciates the high talents of Mr. Calhoun, 
and considers the country now encircled by danger iipon the Oregon 
question. Go to Mr. Calhoun, and tender to him the mission to the 
Court of St. James — special or general, as he may determine — with a 
traijgfer of the Oregon question entirely to his charge." 

Never can I forget how the muscles of his face became tense, how 
his great eye rolled, as he received the terms of the proposal. " No, 
sir — no, (he replied. ) If the embassies of all Europe were clustered 
into one, I would not take it at this time ; my country is in danger ; 
here ought to be the negotiation, and here will I stand." Sir, he re- 
tired to his farm; but the President in his inaugural, had indicated so 
strongly his assertion of the entirety of the Oregon treaty ; had inspir- 
ited the people of the West almost to madness, and in like manner had 
dispirited the merchaDts''of the East, and of the North and South, that 
a presentiment of great dangers stole over the hearts of the people, and 
a war seemed' inevitable, with the greatest naval power of the earth. 
Impelled by their apprehensions, the merchants sent a message to Mr. 
Calhoun, and begged him again to return to the councils of the nation. 
His predecessor generously resigned. He came, and when he came, 
though late, he beheld dismay on the countenances of all. There was 
a triumphant majority in both parts of this Capitol of the Democratic 
party, who, with a few exceptions, were for carrying oixt the measures 
of Mr. Polk. The AVhigs, finding that they were too few to stem the 
current, refused to breast themselves to the shock. But when Mr. 
Calhoun announced on the floor of the Senate, the day after his arrival, 
his firm determination to resist and save from the madness of the hour, 
this great country, they immediately rallied, and soon his friends in this 
House and in the Senate gathered around him, and the country was 
safe. Reason triumphed, and the republic was relieved of the calami- 
ties of a war. This was the last great work he ever consummated. 

But he saw other evils; he beheld this republic about to lose its poise 
from a derangement of its weights and levers; he was anxious to adjust 
the balance, and to restore the equilibrium; he exercised his mind for that 
purpose ; he loved this Union, for I have often heard him breathe out 
that love ; he loved the equality of the States, because he knew that 
upon that equality rested the stability of the government ; he admired 
that compact — the Constitution of our fathers — and esteemed it as a 
p-reat covenant between sovereign States, which if properly observed, 
would make us the chosen people of the world. 



32 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

At length the acting of the spirit chafed the frail tenement of mor- • 
tality, and to the eye of his friends, the tide of life began to ebb ; but, 
sir with an undying confidence in his powers — with a consciousness of 
the dangers which encircled his physical nature, but without regard to 
his own sufferings, in the solitudes of disease, unable in the midst of 
disease even to hold a pen, he dictated his last great speech. That 
speech has gone forth to the world, and the judgment of that world .will 
now impartially be stamped upon it. 

Sir, when his health began gradually to recover, his spirit impelled 
him, against the advice of his friends, into the Senate Chamber ; and 
there, with a manliness of purpose, with a decision of tone, with a clear- 
ness of argument, with a rapidity of thought, he met and overthrew his 
antagonists one by one, as they came up to the attack. But weakened 
by the strife, although he retired victorious and encircled with a laurel 
wreath, he fell exhausted by his own efforts, and soon expired on the 
plains. And now where is he ? Dead, dead, sir ; lost to his country 
and his friends. 

"For hira no more the blazing hearth shall burn, 
Nor wife nor children more shall he behold," 

nor sacred home. But he shall shortly rest amid his own native hills, 
with no dirge but the rude music of the winds, and after awhile, no 
tears to moisten his gi-ave but the dews of Heaven. 

But though dead, he still liveth ; he liveth in the hearts of his friends, in 
the memory of his services, in the respect of the States, in the affections, 
the devoted affections, of that house-hold he cherished. He will live in 
the tomes of time, as ifkey shall unfold their pages, rich with virtues, to 
the eyes of the yet unborn. He lives, and will continue to live, for 
countless ages, in the advance of that science to which, by his intellect, 
he so much contributed, in the disinthrallment of man from the restric- 
tions of government, in the freedom of intercourse of nations, and kind- 
reds, and tongues, which makes our common mother earth throw from 
her lap her bounteous plenty unto all children. And it may be, that 
with. the example set to other nations, there shall arise a union of 
thought and sentiment, and that the strong ties of interest, and the 
silken cords of love, may unite the hearts of all, until from the conti- 
nents and the isles of the sea, there will come up the gratulations of 
voices, that shall mingle with the choral song of the angelic host — 
''Peace on earth; good will to all mankind." 



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PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. dO 

with which he was so peculiarly identified, no stranger tongue may ven- 
ture to attempt words of adequate consolation. But let us hope that 
the event may not be without a wholesome and healing influence upon 
the troubles of the times. Let us heed the voice, which comes to us all, 
both as individuals and as public officers, in so solemn and signal a provi- 
dence of God. Let us remember that, whatever happens to the Republic, 
we must die ! Let us reflect how vain are the personal strifes and par- 
tisan contests in which we daily engage, in view of the great account 
which we may so soon be called on to render I As Cicero exclaimed, in 
considering the death of Crassus : " fallacem hominum sjjem, Jixujl- 
lem que fortunam, et inanes nostras coiitentiones." 

Finally, sir, let us find fresh bonds of brotherhood and of union in 
the cherished memories of those who have gone before us; and let us 
resolve that, so far as in us lies, the day shall never come when New 
England men may not speak of the great names of the South, whether 
among the dead or among the living, as of Americans and fellow- 
countrymen ! 

Mr. Venable rose and said : Mr. Speaker, in responding to the 
announcement just made by the gentleman from South Carolina, (Mr. 
Holmes,) I perform a sad and melancholy office. Did I consult my 
feelings alone, I would be silent. In the other end of this building we 
have just heard the touching eloquence of two venerable and distin- 
guished Senators, his cotemporaries and compatriots. Their names 
belong to their country as well as his ; and I thought, while each was 
speaking, of the valiant warrior, clothed in armor, who, when passing 
the grave of one with whom he had broken lances and crossed weapons, 
dropped a tear upon his dust, and gave testimony to his skill, his valor, 
and his honor. He whose spirit has fled needs no efi'ort of mine to 
place his name on the bright page of history, nor would any eulogy 
which I might pronounce swell the vast tide of praises which will flow 
perennially from a nation's gratitude. The great American statesman 
who has fallen by the stroke of death, has left the impress of his mind 
upon the genei'ations among whom he lived — has given to posterity the 
mines of his recorded thouahts to reward their labor with intellectual 
wealth — has left an example of purity and patriotism on which the 
wearied eye may rest, 

"And gaze upou the great, 
Where neither guilty glory glows, 
Nor despicable state." 



36 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

For more than forty years his name is conspicuous in our history. 
Born at the close of the revokxtionary war, he was in full maturity to 
guide the councils of his country in our second contest with England. 
Never unmindful of her claims upon him, he has devoted a long life to 
her service, and has closed it, like a gallant warrior, with his armor 
buckled on him. " Death made no conquest of this conqueror; for now 
he lives in fame, though not in life." The only fame, sir, which he 
ever coveted — an impulse to great and honorable deeds — a fame which 
none can despise who have not renounced the virtues which deserve it. 
It is at least some relief to our hearts, now heaving with sighs at this 
dispensation of Heaven, that he now belongs to bright, to enduring his- 
tory; for his was one of "the few, the immortal names that were not 
born to die." Of his early history the gentleman who preceded me 
has spoken ; of his illustrious life, I need not speak ; it is known to mil. 
lions now living, and will be familiar to the world in after times. 

But, sir, I propose to say something of him in his last days. Early 
in the winter of 1848-9 his failing health gave uneasiness to his 
friends. A severe attack of bronchitis, complicated with an affection 
of the heart, disqualified him for the performance of his senatorial 
duties with the punctuality which always distinguished him. It was 
then that I became intimately acquainted with his mind, and, above all, 
with his heart. Watching by his bedside, and during his recovery, I 
ceased to be astonished at the power which his master-mind and eleva- 
ted moral feelings had always exerted upon those who were included 
within the circle of his social intercourse. It was a tribute paid spon- 
taneously to wisdom, genius, truth. Patriotism, honesty of purpose, 
and purity of motive, rendered active by the energies of such an intel- 
lect as hardly ever falls to any man, gathered around him sincere 
admirers and devoted friends. That many have failed to appreciate the 
value of the great truths which he uttered, or to listen to the warnings 
which he gave, is nothing new in the history of great minds. Bacon 
wrote for posterity, and men of profound sagacity always think in 
advance of their generation. His body was sinking under the invasion 
of disease before I formed his acquaintance, and he was passing from 
among us before I was honored with his friendship. I witnessed with 
astonishment the influence of his mighty mind over his weak physical 
structure. Like a powerful steam engine on a frail bark, every revolu- 
tion of the wheel tried its capacity for endurance to the utmost. But 
yet his mind moved on, and, as if insensible to the decay of bodily 
strength, put forth, without stint, his unequalled powers of thought and 
analysis, until nature well-nigh sunk under the imposition. His intel- 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 37 

lect preserved its vigor while his body was sinking to decay. The 
menstruum retained its powers of solution, while the frail crucible 
which contained it was crumbling to atoms. During his late illness, 
which, with a short intermission, has continued since the commencement 
of this session of Congress, there was no abatement of his intellectual 
labors. They were directed as well to the momentous questions now 
agitating the public mind, as to the completion of a work which em- 
bodies his thoughts on the subject of government in general and our 
own Constitution in particular ; thus distinguishing his last days by the 
greatest effort of his mind, and bequeathing it as his richest legacy to 
posterity. 

Cheerful in a sick chamber, none of the gloom which usually attends 
the progress of disease annoyed him; severe in ascertaining the truth 
of conclusions, because unwilling to be deceived himself, he scorned to 
deceive others; skilful in appreciating the past, and impartial in his 
judgment of the present, he looked to the future as dependent on exist- 
ing causes, and fearlessly gave utterance to his opinions of its nature 
and character; the philosopher and the statesman, he discarded expe- 
dients by which men " construe the times to their necessities." He loved 
the truth for the truth's sake, and believed that to temporize is but to 
increase the evil which we seek to remove. The approach of death 
brought no indication of impatience — no cloud upon his intellect. To 
a friend who spoke of the time and manner in which it was best to 
meet death, he remarked: "I have but little concern about either; I 
desire to die in the discharge of my duty; I have an unshaken reliance 
upon the providence of God." 

I saw him four days after his last appearance in the Senate chamber, 
gradually sinking under the power of his malady, without one murmur 
at his affliction, always anxious for the interest of his country, deeply 
absorbed in the great question which agitates the public mind, and 
earnestly desiring its honorable adjustment, unchanged in the opinions 
which he had held and uttered for many years, the ardent friend of the 
Union and the Constitution, and seeking the perpetuity of our institu- 
tions, by inculcating the practice of justice and the duties of patriotism. 

Aggravated symptoms, on the day before his death, gave notice of 
his approaching end. I left him late at night, with but faint hopes of 
amendment; and, on being summoned early the next morning, I found 
him sinking in the cold embrace of death; calm, collected, and con- 
scious of his situation, but without any symptom of alarm, his face 
beaming with intelligence, without one indication of suffering or of 
pain. I watched his countenance, and the lustre of that bright eye 



38 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

remained unclianged, until the silvei' cord was broken, and then it went 
out in instantaneous eclipse. When I removed my hand from closing 
his eyes he seemed as one who had fallen into a sweet and refreshing 
slumber. Thus, sir, closed the days of John Caldwell Calhoun, 
the illustrious American statesman. His life and services shall speak 
of the greatness of by-gone days with undying testimony. Another 
jewel has fallen from our crown; an inscrutable Providence has removed 
from among us one of the great lights of the age. But it is not extin- 
/ guished. From a height to which the shafts of malice or the darts of 
[ detraction never reach, to which envy cannot crawl, or jealousy ap- 
proach, it will shine brighter and more gloriously, sending its rays over 
a more extended horizon, and blessing mankind by its illumination. 
The friend of constitutional liberty will go to his writings for truth, and 
to his life for a model. We, too, should be instructed by his experi- 
ence, while his presages for the future should infuse caution into our 
counsels, and prudence into our actions. His voice, now no more heard 
in the Senate, will speak most potentially from the grave. Personal 
opposition has died with his death. The aspiring cannot fear him, nor 
the ambitious dread his elevation. His life has become history, and 
his thoughts the property of his countrymen. 

Sir, while we weep over his grave, let us be consoled by the assur- 
ance that "honor decks the turf that wraps his clay." He was our 
own, and his fame is also ours. Let us imitate his great example, in 
preferring truth and duty to the approbation of men, or the triumphs 
- of party. Be willing to stand alone for the right, nor surrender inde- 
pendence for any inducement. He was brought up in the society of the 
men of the Revolution, saw the work of our Constitution since its for- 
mation, was profoundly skilled in construing its meaning, and sought 
by his wisdom and integrity to give permanency to the Government 
which it created. If such high purposes be ours, then our sun, like 
his, will go down serenely, and we shall have secured "a peace above 
all earthly dignities, a still and quiet conscience." 

The question was then taken on the resolutions offered by Mr, 
Holmes, and they were unanimously agreed to. 

And thereupon the House adjourned, 



REPORT 

OF THE COMMITTEE OF TWENTY-FIVE. 



Charleston, May 24, 1850. 
His Excellency, Whitemarsh B. Seahrook, 

Gover::or of the State of South Carolina. 

Dear Sir : I have received your Excellency's note of the 29th ultimo, 
addressed to me, as Chairman of the Committee of Twenty-five, ou the 
removal of the remains of the Hon. John C. Calhoun; and desiring 
of me, "as early as my convenience may permit, a narrative of the 
occurrences on the way, fi'om the day of our leaving Charleston, to the 
time when the body was surrendered to you." 

Your note has been laid before the committee, and, with their con- 
currence, the following report is respectfully submitted. 

The committee was appointed by your Excellency, under the second 
resolution of the meeting held in this city, on the evening of the 2d 
ultimo, to give expression to the public sorrow, on the death of the 
Hon. John C. Calhoun. We were desired " to proceed to Washing- 
ton, to procure and bring home his remains, and to co-operate in all 
other measures for their final disposition." 

On the 5th ult., the day the committee met to organize, our news- 
papers announced the appointment, by the Senate of the United States, 
of a committee of six members of that distinguished body, to take 
charge of the remains of Mr. Calhoun, and to attend them to their 
final resting place in his native State, This high honor modified the 
duty which had been assigned to us. It had become the office of the 
Senators, to convey and deliver the remains; ours, in manifestation of 
the respect of our people, to attend them as mourners. 

A general understanding in reference to the melancholy duty to be 
performed, was held by correspondence, between the Hon. James M. 
Mason, the chairman of the committee of the Senate, and the chairman 
of this committee; and, under a resolution of the latter, three of our 
number were requested to proceed to Washington, to confer with the 
committee of the Senate, and keep our authorities and committee at 
home advised of their arrangements. The chairman being one of this 



40 THE CAROEINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

sub-committee, H. A. DeSaussure, Esq., was appointed cliairman pro 
tempore of the committee of twenty-five. 

The departure of the sub-committee, however, was to be deferred 
until Mrs. Calhoun should have been consulted, and her desires ascer- 
tained respecting the removal and ultimate disposition of the remains. 
This object having been effected, and her acquiescence in the measures 
proposed by your Excellency received, the sub-committee, consisting of 
the chairman, and Messrs. A. Huger and C. Gr. Memminger, proceeded 
to Washington, and arrived there on the 13th and 14th April. 

Mr. Mason, the chairman of the Senate's committee, had been called 
by business from Washington. He returned on the 15th, and on the 
next morning his committee met, and appointed Monday, the 22d 
April, as the day of departure with their solemn charge. Communica- 
tions by telegraph to the committee, through Mr. DeSaussure, the 
chairman p)^'o tern., gave information of this arrangement, and of our 
expectation that the cortege would arrive in Charleston on Thursday 
morning, the 25th April. 

On the arrival of the sub-committee in Washington, they found all 
the public buildings draped with emblems of mourning, by order of the 
President of the United States; and their reception by the committee 
of the Senate, and by other distinguished citizens, manifested the deep 
interest felt in the purpose of their visit. 

On the morning of the IGth April, Robert Beale, Esq., Sergeant-at- 
Arms of the Senate, called on the sub-committee by direction of the 
committee of the Senate, to express their desire that we should consider 
ourselves guests, during our stay in Washington; informed us that 
apartments had been provided for our accommodation, and requested us 
to appoint an hour to receive the committee, who would call and conduct 
us to the hotel they had selected. We accordingly named an hour, at 
which they called with carriages, and conducted us to the City Hotel, 
introduced us to a private parlour and comfortable rooms, informed us 
that instructions had been given to meet our directions in all respects, 
and that a carriage would be in waiting subject to our orders. 

The invitation was extended to our associates of the committee of 
twenty-five, to consider themselves guests on their an-ival, with infor- 
mation that like arrangements would be made for their comfort and 
convenience. 

Of the twenty-five gentlemen originally named on the committee, 
four were deprived, by circumstances, of the privilege of uniting in the 
duties of our appointment, viz : Messrs. Henry W. Conner, Arthur P. 
Hayne, A. G. Magrath and James Gadsden; .and, in their stead, 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF " TWENTY-FIVE. 41 

Messrs. George S. Bryan, Matthew I. Keith, P. H. Seabrook and J. E. 
Leland, joined us by your Excellency's request. 

Twenty members of the committee arrived in Washington on Satur- 
day, the 20th April, and were met at the landing by the Sergeant-at- 
Arms with carriages, and conducted to the lodgings provided for them. 
These gentlemen had been expected on the previous day, and the 
Sergeant-at-Arms was at the landing to receive them. But their pas- 
sage from Charleston had been boisterous, and they arrived at Wilming- 
ton after the cars had left it. It thus became necessary for them to 
remain in Wilmington till the next day. They were immediately re- 
quested to consider themselves the guests of the city; and enjoyed the 
kindest attentions from the authorities and citizens. These attentions 
were acknowledged by the committee, in resolutions adopted at Wil- 
mington, and communicated by Mr. DeSaussure, the chairman pro tern: 
All of our committee were now in Washington, excepting two, the 
Hon. Wm. Aiken, who was unexpectedly detained, and John E. Carew, 
Esq., who accompanied his colleagues as far as Richmond, where he 
received information by telegraph of the sudden illness of his father, 
which obliged him to return. 

We were joined on our way homeward, at Wilmington, by Mr. 
Aiken, and at the wharf in Charleston, by Mr. Carew. Our number 
therefore was complete dui'ing the ceremonies in Charleston. 

Two of the sons of Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Andrew Pickens Calhoun, 
and Maj. Patrick Calhoun, of the United States Army, accompanied 
the committee of twenty-five from Charleston to Washington, and 
were received by the committee of the Senate as guests. Their pre- 
sence at all the ceremonies incident to our mournful duty, deepened 
their solemnity. 

To the Sergeant-at-Arms, the immediate charge of the remains, from 
the vault in Washington to their delivery in South Carolina, had been 
committed by the Senators. To six respectable attendants, selected by 
him, had been assigned the duty of bearing them whenever removed 
during the journey. The remains were enclosed in an iron coffin, fur- 
nished with six handles, which rendered the transfer from one convey- 
ance to another, safe and convenient. 

In accordance with a programme issued by the Hon. Chairman of the 
Senate committee, the remains were brought to the eastern front of the 
Capitol at 8 o'clock, on Monday morning, the 22d April, in charge of 
the Sergeant-at-Arms and his attendants, all in full suits of black. The 
committee of the Senate, with the two sons of the deceased, the Hon. 
Mr. Venable, of North Carolina, and the Hon. Mr. Holmes, of South 



42 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

Carolina, Members of the House of Representatives, invited by the 
Senate's committee to join the escort; the committee of South Carolina, 
and many distinguished citizens, were in attendance. These, in a long- 
train of carriages, followed the hearse in slow procession from the steps 
of the Capitol, along the south side of Capitol Hill and down the Mary- 
land Avenue, and thence to the wharf on the Potomac, where the 
steamer Baltimore awaited us. The steamer bore appropriate insignia 
of the melancholy service she was to perform, both the exterior and 
interior being shrouded in mourning. The body was carried on board 
and placed in the upper saloon, which had been prepared for its recep- 
tion, and for the accommodation of the committees and friends. 

Immediately after this, the corpse of a young gentleman recently ap- 
pointed a Cadet at West Point, a son of the Hon. H. W. Hilliard, of 
Alabama, a member of the House of Representatives, was brought in 
and placed by that of Mr. Calhoun. The afflicted parents were in 
attendance, and a general sympathy with their deep private grief was 
added to the public sorrow. 

We were now ready to leave the city of Washington. Of the com- 
mittee of the Senate, five were present, viz : the Hon. James M. Mason, 
of Virginia, Chairman; the Hon. Daniel S. Dickinson, of New York, 
the Hon. John H. Clarke, of Rhode Island, the Hon. Jefferson Davis, 
of Mississippi, and the Hon. Augustus C. Dodge, of Iowa. The Hon. 
John M. Berrien, of Georgia, had been called to Savannah by the illness 
of a member of his family, but we are gratified to say, that he was 
enabled to meet his colleagues on their arrival in Charleston, and there 
to unite with them in the solemnities of the occasion. 

Among the attendants on the solemn offices just commenced, were 

the Hon. William Seaton, the Mayor of Washington, and Lieut. Thomas 

B. Huger, of South Carolina, appointed by Commodore Parker, of the 

Home Squadron, in expression of his respect, to accompany the remains 

as his flag officer. These gentlemen attended us officially to the landing 

on the territory of Virginia. Mr. Clarke Mills, the artist, of this city, 

now employed at Washington in completing the equestrian statue of 

Jackson, accompanied the committee of South Cai'olina by invitation. 

The public are indebted to Mr. Mills for having prepared himself for 

perpetuating not only the head and countenance of Mr. Calhoun, but 

his manly form. A study of his manner in the Senate and in private, 

with other advantages which he has secured, will enable him to apply 

his genius to a representation in statuary of this distinguished son of 

Carolina, of which we may confidently anticipate the highest value. 

The Hon. Mr. Webster, one of the six Senators first appointed on the 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF TWENTY-FIVE. 43 

committee of that body, wlio found it necessary to ask to be excused 
from the duty whicli the appointment involved, was nevertheless desir- 
ous of paying a last tribute of respect to the memory of Mr. Calhoun, 
by accompanying us to the landing in Virginia. The state of his health 
preventing him, it is due to the occasion to transmit with this report his 
two notes, communicating his intention, and his reasons for relinquish- 
ing it. 

Crowds of persons had collected to witness the mournful departure ; 
but an unbroken silence prevailed as our boat moved from her moorings. 
On approaching Alexandria, we found the flags of the shipping, and 
flags displayed from the public buildings, at half mast, and in mourning. 
No incident of special interest occurred on our further progress down 
the Potomac, except the passing of Mount Vernon. As we drew near, 
the speed of our boat was moderated. Moving slowly on, we paused, 
as it were, in silent respect. 

Mount Vernon belongs to history. It commands the attention of 
every traveller. It associates, throughout the world, the dignity of 
worth in private life with all that is rational in civil liberty, with all 
that is wise in government, with all that is pure in the service of country. 
To us it is sacred ground, impressing every mind with awe ; filling every 
heart with gratitude — an unseen presence is there ; and no unhallowed 
thought finds place. Every packet that passes tolls its bell in honor of 
the Father of his Country. On this occasion, the customary answer of 
the heart was wrought into high emotion. We bore what was mortal of 
one illustrious man, by all that is mortal of the great type of illustrious 
men. No bosom was unmoved; scarcely an eye was tearless. ''Deep 
called unto deep," as the muffled knell of our boat paid its passing 
tribute. 

Arrived at Acquia Creek, we found in readiness a special train, pro- 
vided by the Richmond and Acquia Creek Railroad Company ; and depu- 
tations of distinguished citizens from Richmond and from Fredericks- 
burg, together with a military escort from the latter city, awaiting our 
arrival. The deputation from Fredericksburg were a joint committee 
of officers of the corporation and citizens, and consisted of the Hon. R. 
B. Semple, Mayor, B. S. Herndon, Recorder, John Minor, member of 
Council, Thomas B. Barton, Commonwealth's Attorney, John J. Chew, 
Clerk, and Col. Hugh Mercer and Eustace Conway, Esq., citizens. 
The military escort consisted of the Fredericksburg Guards, under com- 
mand of Captain Wm. S. Barton. 

The deputation from Richmond were the Hon. John Y. Mason, J. 
Lyons, G. A. Myers, and Wm. F. Ritchie, Esquires; and were accom- 



44 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

panied by Edward Robinson, Esq., the President of the Richmond and 
Acquia Railroad Company. 

The remains were landed on the shores of Virginia, and received with 
honors by the deputations and by the military. During a solemn dirge 
by the Band of the Fredericksburg Guards, the remains were conveyed 
to a car prepared for them, and for the special attendants. The com- 
mittees of the Senate and of South Carolina, the Sons, and others in 
attendance with the deputations, were conducted to another car ; and 
the Fredericksburg Guards preceeded them in a third. Our approach 
to Fredericksburg was announced by minute guns — our passage by the 
city honored by the tolling of bells and solemn music. We stopped a 
short time to interchange courtesies with the citizens, when we proceeded 
to Milford, at which place we were invited to partake of a collation, and 
here the deputation from Fredericksburg took leave of us. Resuming 
our journey, we arrived at Richmond at half-past 4 o'clock, P. M., and 
were met at the boundary of the city by marshals on horseback, and by 
assemblages which indicated a reception of no ordinary character. Mili- 
tary and civic honors, public and private tributes, were harmoniously 
combined. A hearse, prepared for the occasion, with solemn decorations, 
and drawn by four black horses appropriately clad, each led by a groom 
in mourning; a splendid military escort; a large procession of citizens; 
and an array of equipages, to receive the committee, deputations and 
public officers, were the manifestations of the general desire in the capi- 
tal of Virginia to honor the departed, and to show respect to those who 
accompanied his remains. The silence was not once broken by the 
immense throng of spectators. The stores and places of business were 
closed — the bells were tolled — the procession moved onward to mournful 
dirges until it reached the Capitol. Here the military were placed in 
open order, and the body, borne by the attendants, the several commit- 
tees and deputations, the Governor, public officers, and citizens uncov- 
ered, passed through them, entered the Capitol, and were conducted to 
the hall of the House of Delegates, where the remains were deposited 
for the night, under a military guard, appointed by his Excellency, Gov, 
Floyd. The solemnity was closed by a short address and prayer from 
the Rev. Stephen Taylor. This simple, touching, ceremony over, the 
committees and their friends were conducted in carriages to apartments 
provided for us at the Exchange Hotel, as the guests of the city ; at 
half past 7 o'clock, the escort (with the exception of the sons of Mr. 
Calhoun, to whom a private parlor had been assigned) were conducted 
to dinner. The Hon. John Y. Mason, the chairman of the committee 
of citizens, presided, assisted by J. Lyons, Esq. His Excellency the 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OP TWENTY-FIVE. 40 

Grovernor and Council, the Mayor and City Council of Richmond, and 
the gentlemen composing the deputations from other parts of the State, 
being present. After dinner, Judge Mason rose, and delicately intima- 
ting his unwillingness, under the circumstances which had brought us 
together, to encroach upon the liberty of their guests to retire at 
pleasure, addressed the meeting as follows, viz : 

" The gentlemen, whom it is our happiness to entertain as the hon- 
ored guests of the city of Richmond, are engaged in the melancholy duty 
of conveying the lifeless remains of an illustrious citizen from the scene 
of his public service, where he has fallen in the discharge of his duty, 
to their final resting place, in the bosom of his native State. On this 
mournful occasion, the interchange of sentiment common in festive 
entertainments, would not be appropriate ; but before we separate, there 
is one sentiment which I venture to propose — a sentiment to which the 
people of Virginia would cordially respond, and in which, I am sure, all 
present will take pleasure in uniting. 

" Honored be the memory of John Caldwell Calhoun, the be- 
loved and lamented son of South Carolina ; a son worthy of the utmost 
love of an adoring mother." 

The delicate compliment of the Chairman to the guests, and the 
respect to our State and Tier lamented son, expressed in the sentiment, 
were acknowledged by the Chairman of the committee, in a reply, to the 
following efi"ect, viz : 

" Mr. Chairman : You have said rightly, that the present is not an 
occasion for the interchange of sentiment common to festive entertain- 
ments. We have met under mournful circumstances. But the senti- 
ment you have been pleased to oifer, accords with the solemnity of the 
occasion ; and an acknowledgment in the same spirit, will not be deemed 
inappropriate. Indeed, I should fail to do justice to my own feelings, 
and, I am very sure, to the feelings of my colleagues, were I not to 
embrace the opportunity, to express our deep sense of the respect shown 
to our State and to her lamented dead, not only in the sentiment just 
ofi"ered, and in its reception, but in the impressive ceremonies through 
which we have this day passed. It is impossible, sir, to dissociate 
them. They came together, and fill our hearts. Allow me, then, for 
these noble and generous tributes, to tender our cordial thanks. 

"Our whole country has made its offerings of honor to the departed; 
and we would not indicate any insidious distinction among these spon- 
taneous expressions of public feeling. They are all acceptable; all 
valued. But under circumstances like the present, I may be permitted, 



46 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

without the risk of such an imputation, to ask from what quarter of our 
wide-spread country, can sympathy and honor be more gratifying, than 
from the Commonwealth of Virginia ? Virginia, the eldest in this 
sisterhood of States ! Virginia, nurtured in the principles of a sound, 
rational, regulated liberty I Virginia, which has at all times furnished 
so ample a contingent of talent and worth to the service of our common 
country ! Virginia, whose soil entombs the Father of his Country ! 
Associations such as these, impart their character to her tributes, and 
add to the power and comfort of her sympathy. 

" I have said, Mr. Chairman, that the soil of your State entombs 
the Father of his Country. This privilege has conferred upon her a 
distinction which all lands would be proud to possess. But let me add, 
in reference to a sentiment I am about to propose, that she enjoys a 
higher and nobler distinction — she educated Washington. Washington 
was a Providential man ; reared up by Grod for Providential purposes ; 
purposes not confined to one country, but comprehending in their results 
the civil interests of the world ; not limited to the age, but destined to 
influence ages to come. And Washington was the son of Virginia. 
Born and nurtured within her borders, his character was formed, and 
his mind developed under her influences. He derived from her, and 
gave to her, his first energies. It was through her confidence, and in 
her service, that he was prepared for his more enlarged relations; for 
his high destiny ; his great mission. In accordance with these views, 
Mr. Chairman, I ofi"er, "The land that nurtured Washington." 

Both sentiments were drunk standing, and in silence ; and after the 
last, the company retired. 

The tAvo committees and their friends enjoyed every possible comfort 
and attention at the hotel ; and in accordance with arrangements for 
resuming our journey, we were conducted in carriages at 10 o'clock, on 
Tuesday morning, to the Capitol. Gov. Floyd was present, to receive 
us, and to re-deliver to the committee of the Senate the charge he had 
taken for the night. On this occasion His Excellency made the follow- 
ing address, viz : 

" Gentlemen of the Committees of Congress, 

and of Citizens of South Carolina : 
" I deliver to your hands the precious charge which, as the Grovernor 
of Virginia, was deposited with me for the night. Virginia has per- 
formed the last sad office within her power of reverence and respect to 
the remains of the honored dead. And I can say for her citizens, that 
no sad and sorrowful duty could have been executed by them with a 
more melancholy interest. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF TWENTY-FIVE. 47 

" The spontaneous outpouring of our population, which you witnessed 
yesterday, is but -a slight manifestation of the exalted admii-ation which 
beats strong in the bosom of the Commonwealth for the virtues and the 
genius of the departed statesman. 

" His virtues were enough to redeem this generation ; his genius 
sufficiently great to enrich the empire. But this is not the time for 
eulogy. In your sorrows and bereavement we offer you all we have, 
and all you can receive, our deep and heart-felt sympathy. Virginia 
will mingle freely her tears with those of Carolina over the fresh earth 
which is so shortly to cover all that can ever perish of the illustrious 
dead. 

" I take a mournful pleasure in officiating personally in these cere- 
monies. I knew him well, and esteemed him for those virtues which 
won the hearts of the nation ; and admired him for that intellect which 
secured to him the admiration of the world." 

Mr. James M. Mason, the Chairman of the Senate committee, rose 
and said : 

" Grovernor Floyd : — The committee of the Senate of the United 
States receive back at your hands from the State of Virginia, the re- 
mains of their late colleague, the illustrious Calhoun. The solemn 
and imposing reception which awaited them yesterday, at the confines 
of this city, by the citizens and the civil authorities of the City of 
Richmond, and their honored repose during the past night in the halls 
of their Capitol, under the safe-guard of the State, most touchingly 
evince the deep sense entertained by Virginia of the pure and lofty 
patriotism which ever guided him in life, and will remain a proud 
memorial to future ages. In discharge of the trust confided to us by 
the Senate, we shall pursue our melancholy way, sir, to the final resting 
place allotted for his remains, in his native State, bearing with us a 
grateful sense of the tribute paid to his memory at the capital of Vii'- 
ginia, by these imposing solemnities, and of the generous hospitalities 
which have been extended to the entire escort, by the City of Richmond. 
Before taking leave, however, you will allow me to refer to the com- 
mittee of citizens of the State of South Carolina, who have been deputed 
to repair to Washington, and to unite on this sad occasion, in rendering 
merited honor to the memory of her illustrious dead ; a deputation of 
her most grave and valued citizens, whose pi'esence here most feelingly 
manifests their own profound respect for the statesman who is no more, 
whilst it testifies how deeply Carolina mourns the loss of her patriot son 
— the gifted sage — the virtuous man, John Caldwell Calhoun." 



48 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

The Chairman of our committee then said : 

" Governor Floyd : — I am at a loss for words to express, for myself 
and my associates from South Carolina, the feelings excited by this 
solemn occasion ; and in the attempt to give them utterance, the sin- 
cerity of the heart must supply the place of set forms of speech. 

" We are deeply affected by the honors with which the remains of 
the lamented dead were yesterday received at the border of Virginia ; 
by the manifestations of respect during our progress ; by the touching 
ceremonies of the reception here ; by those through which we are now 
passing ; and by the kindness shown to all who have been deputed to 
the melancholy offices in which we are engaged. These generous testi- 
monials on the part of Virginia, to the worth of this cherished son of 
South Carolina, will find a cordial answer from every heart within his 
native State. 

" Senates and assemblies of the people and distinguished individuals, 
have recorded their sense of the merits of the departed statesman and 
of the public loss. These valued tributes will impress the country. 
But those of Virginia are enhanced by her sympathy, so manifest at 
every stage of our passage through her territory. 

" And, sir, her offerings are full of associations of the highest interest. 
They recall the talent and worth which Virginia herself has given to 
the country. She is the mother of great men. Her sons walk by the 
light of a galaxy of her own. She has a right to praise, and we feel 
the value of her tributes. 

" Your Excellency, and the Hon. Chairman of the committee of 
Senators, have both been pleased to refer, in strong and grateful terms, 
to the pure and elevated character of Mr. Calhoun. Of all the grounds 
of public favor, this is the most gratifying. It is the recognition of 
high moral worth that gives to all public honors their chief value. 
Wisdom may command, eloquence may win, and station influence ; but 
it is virtue only that consecrates our powers. " Power to do good," 
said Lord Bacon, " is the true and lawful end of all aspiring." Am- 
bition, to be virtuous, must be virtuously directed ; and moral worth is 
an essential element in any just standard of public character. These 
ceremonies, then, are no mere pageant. They are the testimony of 
public opinion to high virtue, guiding high intellect. They will fix the 
attention of the young on the true grounds of all desirable distinction. 
Let our young men be incited to virtuous distinction ; let them emulate 
virtuous example ; let them draw their fires from the altars of a pure 
devotion, and our country must be safe. 

" In taking leave, permit me to offer our thanks for the part which 



REPORT OF TllK COMMIT FKK OF TWKNTY-ilVE. 49 

you have taken personally in these mournful honors ; and to express my 
regret that the feelings appropriate to an occasion so imposing, have 
received from me so inadequate an expression." 

A most touching and solemn offering to the Tliruiie of Grace, by the 
Rev. Mr. Reed, concluded the ceremonies iu the Capitol. The remains 
were then conveyed to the hearse, and the procession being formed, we 
went in carriages, as on the preceding day, to the sound of solemn 
music and the tolling of bells, to the Railroad depot. We were received • 
in cars specially provided and prepared for us, and proceeded to Peters- 
burg. We were accompanied from Richmond to the boundary of the 
State, by a deputation appointed by his Excellency, Gov. Floyd, and 
consisting of T. T. Giles, G. M. Carriugton, B. B. Minor, and H. C. 
Cabell, Esqrs. We arrived at Petersburg about noon, and were met 
by his Honor, Mr. Corling, the ]Mayor, the entire magistracy and Com- 
mon Council, and by the venerable Judge May, the Chairman, and his 
committee of citizens, with a large military detachment. The v/hole 
cortege were accompanied in private carriages, followed by a numerous 
procession of citizens, to St. Paul's Church, on AValnut street. We 
found the church hung throughout in mourning. Here the remains 
were deposited, on a bier in charge of the military, to await our de- 
parture, with the regular train of that evening, for Wilmington. During 
the procession every store was closed, and some of the houses exhibited 
badges of moui'ning. 

The church was tilled with ladies and gentlemen, to witness the silent 
but impressive ceremony. The committees, with all associated with 
them, and the deputation from Richmond, were conducted from the 
church to the hotel at the Petersburg and Roanoke Railroad depot, 
where we were received as guests of the city. Here a sumptuous dinner 
awaited us, after receiving the visits and courtesies of the citizens : The 
Hon. Judge May, Daniel Lyon, and Thomas Wallace, Esqrs. represent- 
ing the city at dinner. At 8 o'clock that evening, we proceeded on 
our way to Weldon, and travelled all night. At about 2 o'clock on the 
morning of Wednesday, we reached Weldon, whither a detachment 
from four uniform companies of Petersburg, under the command of 
Lieut. Allfriend, had accompanied us. Here they were to take leave. 
The detachment was formed into line, and the Chairman of the Senate 
and South Carolina committees addressed to them appropriate acknow- 
ledgments. To these, Lieut. Allfriend replied, assuring us that '* how- 
ever mournful the occasion, the part they had taken was deemed by 
them a duty and a privilege." 

At the distance of about 40 miles from Wilmington, we were met by 
4 



flO THE CAROLINA TKIBUTp: TO CALHOUN. 

it deputation of teu gentlemen from that city, consisting of Dr. De 
Rossett, Sen., (a gentleman 83 years of age,) Chairman, and Messrs. 
J. F, McCrea, Sen., P. R. Dickinson, W. C. Bettencaurt, James Owen, 
Thos. H. AVright, John Walker, and Thomas Loring, of Wilmington, 
and F. J. Hill, of Brunswick, and James Iredell, of Ealeigh. These 
gentlemen tendered to us the hospitalities of Wilmington. We reached 
that city at 1 o'clock. A gun was fired on our arrival as a signal, at 
which the flags of the public buildings and the shipping were struck at 
half mast ; the bells began to toll and the military to fire minute guns. 
We were now informed that arrangements had been made for the re- 
ception of the whole company at the hotel, as guests of the city ; but 
that it having been suggested to them that delay in leaving Wilmington 
might interfere with the ceremonies of the reception in Charleston the 
next day, they requested that their desires should not interfere with our 
arrangements. This delicate and considerate course left us at liberty 
to embark without delay. To this end, the body was placed on a heai-se, 
appropriately decorated for the occasion, drawn by a white horse, Avith 
coverings of black, and a procession formed from the cars to the steamer. 
The citizens were arranged in a long double line, and stood uncovered, 
whilst the procession passed through them to solemn miisic. The cere- 
mony was deeply impressive. The body was placed on board the 
steamer Nina, which had been prepared and sent by your Excellency to 
receive it, with the committees in attendance. AVe were here met by 
Capt. William Blanding, who had been requested by the City Council 
to proceed to Wilmington in the Nina, as Master of Ceremonies. The 
Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad Company had also in waiting one of 
their boats, the Wilmington, the use of which had been kindly tendered 
to and accepted by our city authorities. A part of the company in 
attendance went in each boat; and by this arrangement, the comfort of 
all was greatly promoted. We were accompanied to Charleston by a 
deputation of sixteen citizens of Wilmington, of whom Dr. De Rossett, 
the elder, was Chairman ; and also by a deputation of four from the 
Board of Directors of the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad Company, 
of whom Gen. James Owen was Chairman. The two steamers left 
Wilmington together about 3 o'clock, P. M., for Charleston. 

On the details thus given of the honors paid to the memory of Mr. 
Calhoun, it may be remarked, that at each of the cities through which 
we passed, the ceremonies had some appropriate peculiarity. The simple 
and silent movement from the Capitol at AVashington, where the elo- 
quence of public and individual sorrow had so recently been heard ; the 
emblems of respect at Alexandria ; the honors to our sad procession as 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF TWENTY-FIVE. Ol 

it moved slowly through Fredericksburg, with the military and civic 
escort of that city; the more elaborate arrangements at Richiiiond for 
the reception and charge of the remains for the night, and their re- 
delivery the next day, with the kind attention to the comfort of the 
committees; the full and imposing procession through Petersburg, the 
church draped in crape, and the informal courtesies of the citizens ; the 
numerous array of private citizens at Wilmington, through whom the 
procession passed to the boat, all exhibited the common purpose in 
these several communities, with variety in the modes of manifesting 
their respect to the memory of the dead, and their kindness to the 
living. 

To these more formal tributes wore added other testimonials less 
imposing, but not less touching. At several small places along the road, 
the discharge of cannon was the manifestation of respect. As we passed 
a farm near AVilmington, North Carolina, the owner, an elderly man, 
stood at the road-side, uncovered, his right hand resting on a small 
pine, hung with emblems of mourning, with his two servants standing 
behind him, also uncovered. And a short time befoi'e this, a distant 
bell had sounded the modest tribute of a rural neighborhood, where no 
assemblage was seen. It ought also to be remembered that at every 
place, all who composed the cortege were received as guests ; that 
through the entire line of travel, conveyances had been tendered, and 
were provided without charge ; and that the Wilmington and Raleigh 
Railroad Company would permit no charge to the South Carolina Com- 
mittee on their way to Washington. 

And whilst the committee of twenty-five thus report the distinguished 
honors paid to the memory of the lamented Calhoun, they gratefully 
recall the respect and kindness shown to themselves, for their work's 
sake. To the Honorable the committee of the Senate of the United 
States, to the citizens of Washington, Fredericksburgh, Richmond, 
Petersburgh and Wilmington, and especially to the authorities and 
committees of the several cities, their thanks are due, and they would 
thus record their acknowledgments. 

Vie entered the harbor of Charleston at 9 o'clock on Thursday morn- 
ing, the 25th April. A fog made the city indistinct to view, until we 
had approached quite near to it, when we observed that the houses were 
hung with emblems of mourning. The tone of deep feeling produced 
by the silent eloquence of these tokens, was made deeper by the 
Sabbath-like stillness of the city. On our approaching the revenue 
cutter Crawford in the roads, she commenced the firinir of minute auns. 
The Nina took her in tow, and a procession of boats was formed, con- 



52 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

sisting of the Nina and Wilmington, the revenue cutter and the 
steamers Metamora and Pilot; the two latter with citizens on board. 
These vessels, all displaying emblems of mourning, arranged with re- 
markable care and taste, moved slowly several times along the entire 
line of the city, from the Southern point of the Battery to the landing 
place at Smith's wharf, until the hour appointed for the landing. This 
novel procession was felt by all to increase the deep solemnity of the 
occasion. At 12 o'clock, the body of J. C. Calhoun was landed on 
the soil of his native State, to receive the honors of his own sorrowing 
people. The description of these honors belongs to others. 

In conclusion, the committee would remark, that the manifestations 
of respect to the memory of our lamented fellow-citizen, were tributes 
both to distinguished talents and services, and to moral excellence uni- 
versally felt and acknowledged. With the public tributes were com- 
bined the most gratifying private recognitions of the purity and elevation 
of purpose exhibited throughout his life. 

Mr. Calhoun was indeed in the vale of years ; venerable for ripe 
knowledge and long service ; but the bond between his country and 
himself, amid the conflicts of opinion, and the asperities of parties, was 
this moral element, which adorned not only the evening of his life, but 
its morning and noon. This, joined to great powers, made up the man, 
whose memory the country deems it a privilege to honor. 

Let us trust, then, that the regrets and the honors which have fol- 
lowed him to the tomb, will impress upon the young men of our country, 
the value of high character and virtuous purposes. With these, the 
useful employment of talent is limited to no one period of life; *' for 
honorable age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor that is 
measured by number of years ; but wisdom is the gray hair unto men, 
and an unspotted life is old age." 

I have the honor to be, 
Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

DANIEL RAVENEL, 

Chairman Cora, of Twenty-five. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF TWENTY-FIVE. 



53 



The Committee of Twenty-five 

Daniel Ravenel, 

C. Gr. Memminger, 

Alfred Huger, 

H. A. DeSaussure, 

James Rose, 

Henry Gourdin, 

G. A. Trenholm, 

Chas. Edmondston, 

Col. J. A. Leland, 

S. Y. TUPPER, 

Mm. M. Martin, 
P. C. Gaillard, 
Wm. Aiken, 



consisted of the following gentlemen 

John E. Carew, 
Chas. T. Lowndes, 
P. Della Torre, 
Thomas Leiire, 
Col. James Legare, 
Col. E. M. Seabrook, 
Geo. N. Reynolds, 
John Russell, 
Col. M. I. Keith, 
A. Moise, Jr., 
Geo. S. Bryan, 
Paul H. Seabrook. 



PAPERS 

ACCOMPANYING THE PRECEDING REPORT. 

PROGRAMME OF PROCEEDINGS IN WASHINGTON. 

The remains of Mr. Calhoun will be brought to the Capitol in a 
hearse, by 8 o'clock, A. M., in the morning of Monday, the 22d inst., 
in charge of the Sergeant-at-Arms, and will so remain in his charge, 
and with those assistants present who are to accompany it to the South. 
They will be at the Eastern front. 

Carriages will be sent for the committee of the Senate and Mr. 
Venable and Mr. Holmes, of S. C, their guests, and for the committee 
from South Carolina, to their respective lodgings, to be there punctually 
at half -past sevev. They will rendezvous at the Eastern front of the 
Capitol; and at 8 o'clock punctually, a baggage-wagon, in charge of a 
messenger, will convey the baggage of the South Carolina committee, 
and have it on board before the procession arrives. 

The body, in charge of the Sergeant-at-Arms, with his assistants, and 
the committee, will leave the Capitol at 8 o'clock, punctually, and 
proceed to the mail boat — passing on the southern side of Capitol Hill, 
and along Maryland Avenue. 

The Sergeant-at-Arms will communicate a copy of this to Paniel 
Ravenel, Esq., Chairman of the committee for South Carolina, and to 
jNIr, Venable and Mr. Holmes. 

(Signed) JAMES M. MASON. 



PASSAGE THROUGH FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA, 

The following information has been kindly furnished by the Hon. 
B, B. Semple, Mayor of Fredericksburg, in compliance with a request 
from the Chairman of the committee, 

Names of the individuals who participated in the demonstratipns of 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF TWENTY-FIVE. 00 

respect to the remains of Mr. Calhoux on their passage through 
Fredericksburg : . 

Officers of the Corporation : 

R. B. Semple, ]Mayor, 

Dr. B. 11. Hernddx, Hecorder, 

John Minor, Couucihuau, 

Thomas B. Barton, Commonweahh's Attorney, ^, ,,, 
T T n /n 1 V TT X- ri X V Committee 

John J. Chew, Clerk ot Hustings Court. 

Citizens : 

Col. Hugh Mercer, 

Eustace Conway. 

Militnri/ : 

Capt. William S. Barton, of Fredericksburg Guards. 
First Lieut. Jas. H. Lawrence, " " 

Second Lieut. J. L. Jones, " " 

Third Lieut. Wm. A. Metcalf, " " 

Fourth Lieut. C. B. White. " '« 

Ban J : 
Capt. John W. Adams, and tweh'e others, 

The following orders were issued on the occasion : 

1st. A committee, consisting of the Mayor, Recorder, Col, Hugh 
Mercer, (only surviving son of Gfen. Hugh Mercer,) and Messrs. Barton, 
Conway, Chew, and Minor, to meet the remains at the Creek, and 
accompany them to town, 

2d. That the Fredericksburg Guards, accompanied by their Band, 
attend the committee to the Creek, and perform such evolutions as may 
be suitable to the occasion. 

3d. That a heai'se be prepared to carry the remains through the 
principal streets of the town. 

4th. That minute guns be fired from 10 o'clock, A. M., to 3 o'clock, 
P. M. 

5th. That the bells of the town be tolled from 10 o'clock, A. M,, to 
3 o'clock, P. M. 

All these orders were fully executed, save the third, which, the com- 
mittee were informed by the Richmond committee, would interfere with 
previous arrangements, and therefore could not be carried out. 

The Mayor concludes his communication with the following remarks. 

" Upon no occasion, have we seen the people of this town more dis- 



56 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

posed to pay honor to the memory of one, for whose transcendent abili- 
ties, and undimmed virtues, however they may have differed with him 
politically, they entertained the utmost reverence. And personally, it 
gives me great pleasure to say, that upon no occasion in the course of 
my official duties, have I been more conscious of discharging a duty, 
than in these offices to the memory of one of the greatest patriots and 
purest men this country has produced." 



RESOLUTIONS OF "THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICH- 
MOND." 

At a meeting of the Council of the City of Richmond, called by the 
President, and held on Thursday, the 18th day of April, 1850. 

Present, Gustavus A. Myers, President; William C. Allen, James 
Bosher, Joseph M. Carrington, Samuel D. Denoon, Simon Cullen, 
Wellington Goddin, Conway Robinson, David J. Saunders, James M. 
Talbott, Richard 0. Haskins, and Lewis W. Chamberlayne. 

The following preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted by 
the Council — 

Whereas, it is understood that the remains of John C. Calhoun, 
late a Senator from our sister State of South Carolina, will be brought 
to this city on ]Monday afternoon, in charge of a joint committee from 
his native State, and from the House of Representatives and Senate of 
the United States ; and this Council, being desirous, on the part of the 
citizens of Richmond, of manifesting every respect to the memory of a 
man not less distinguished for the purity of his private life than illustri-. 
ous as a statesman and patriot. 

Resolved, That Messrs. Haskins, Chamberlayne and Allen, be a com- 
mittee on the part of the Council ; and Messrs. Loftin, N. Ellett, George 
E. Sadler, George M. Carrington, James H. Poindexter, James Win- 
ston, Hugh Riliegh, Richard B. Hasall, William F. Ritchie, Thomas 
R. Price, Col. John Rutherford, Nicholas ^lills. Judge John S. (^askie, 
William H. IMacfarland, William Rutherford, Mann S. Valentine, 
Robert G. Scott, and Joseph Mayo, a committee of the citizens of Rich- 
mond, to co-operate with any committee that may be appointed by the 
Executive of this CommouAvealth, in making suitable arrangements for 
the reception of the remains of the late John C. Calhoun, on their 
an-ival in this city. And that the committee, on behalf of the Council 
and citizens, be requested to invite the joint committee and all others 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF TWENTY-FIVE. 57 

attending the remains, to consider themselves as the guests of this city. 

Resolved, Tliat the said committee of the Council and citizens inform 
the joint committee thereof, and make the necessary arrangements for 
their accommodation. 

On motion of Mr. Chamberlayne, 

Ordered, That the President be added to the committee on the part 
of the Council. 

And then the Council adjourned. 

A copy from the journal of the Council. 

WM. P. SHEPPARD, C. C. R. 



His Excellency, Gov. Floyd, also appointed a Committee to act with 
the committee of the citizens. At a meeting of the joint committees, a 
sub-committee of arrangements was appointed, of which the Hon. John 
Y. Mason was named the Chairman, and the Hon. John Y. Mason, 
Grustavus A. Myers, James liyons, and William E. Ritchie, Esquires, 
were requested to proceed to the Potomac River, and receive those in 
charge of the remains at the border of the State. 

At the request of the Governor, deputations were in attendance from 
other parts of the State. 

The following programme of the arrangements was published in the 
Richmond papers of Monday moi-ning, 22d April, viz : 

ORDER OF PROCESSION, 

To be observed on reception of the remains of the late Hon. John 
C. Calhoun, Monday afternoon, the 22d inst. : 

Military Escort. 

The Hearse. 

Relations and friends of the deceased, with committees of Congress and 

South Carolina in charge of the remains. 

The Joint Committee of Arrangements, appointed by the Governor, 

Council and Citizens of Richmond. 

The Clergy. 

The Governor, Council, and Officers of the State. 

The Judges of the State and Federal Courts. 

Officers of the Army and Navy of the United States. 

The Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen and Common Council of the City 

of Richmond. 

The Different Societies of the City. 

The Citizens. 



58 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

The procession will be formed at 4 o'clock, at a point near tlic 
entrance to Buchanan's Spring ; its right upon the left of the Military. 

The following named gentlemen are appointed as Assistant Marshals : 
Col. John A. Meredith, Col. Henry W. Quarles, Col. George ^Y. IMiin- 
ford. Col. (leorge N. Johnson, Col. J. W. Spaulding, Major Thomas H. 
Ellis, Major H. C. Cabell, Capt. 11. (}. Scott, Jr., Capt. Thomas J. 
Evans, B. B. Elinor, J>. C. liaudolph, and Thomas J. Deane, Esqi's. 

The Marshals are requested to meet at the Chamberlain's Office at 10 
o'clock, on Monday morning. 

BEX J. SHEPPARD, Chief Marshal. 

The Governor requests the following named gentlemen to act as pall- 
bearers at the funeral ceremonies of the late Mr. John C. Calhoun : 
Messrs. John Y. Mason, James J), Halyburton, William Daniel, John 
M. Patton, B. W. S. Cabell, J. B, Harvie, William H. Richardson, 
and John A. Meredith, 



PROCEEDINGS AT PETERSBl^RGH, VIRGINIA, 

From information afforded by the Hon. Charles Corling, Mayor: 

Programme of Arrangements, from the Petcrshiirgh Papera of 28</ 

Ajyril. 

COMMON HALL. 

The members of the Common Hall are requested to meet at their 
room this morning at 10 o'clock, for the purpose of meeting the remains 
of the Hon. John C. Calhoun, deceased. 

CHARLES CORLING, Mayor, 

April 23. 



The Committee appointed by the Common Hall to arrange the de= 
tails of the reception of the remains of the lamented patriot and states- 
man, John C. Calhoun, report as follows : 

1st. That the Common Hall assemble at the Court House at 10 
o'clock, A. M., and proceed to the Richmond and Petersburgh Railroad 
depot in a body, and accompaey the remains thence to its temporary 
resting place at the Episcopal Church, on Walnut street. 

2nd. That the citizens desirous of uniting in the sad offices of respect 



REPORT or THE COMMITTEE OF TWENTY-FIVE. 59 

to the illustrious dead, be respectfully requested to assemble at the Rich- 
mond and Petersburg Railroad depot, at half-past 10 A. M., of this day. 

ord. That the coumiandants of <mr Volunteer Companies be re- 
quested to furnish detachments of their different corps to escort and 
guard the remains while in our town ; that the Artillery Company be 
requested to fire minute guns, and the bells of the different churches be 
tolled while the procession is moving. 

4th. That the church in which the remains shall be temporarily de- 
posited, be clothed in mourning, and that the citizens be requested to 
close their doors from half-past 11, A. M., when the body will arrive at 
this place, until the procession shall have passed. 

5th. That John F. May, Francis Jlajor, AViJliam T. Joynes, William 
Brownley, H. B. Gaines, James Dimlop, Robert Birchett, Robert R. 
Collier, John Sturdivant, John AV. Syme, Joseph C. Swan, D. M. Ber- 
nard, Gr. V. Scott and Peter P. Batte, committee of citizens, be re- 
quested to act with the committee of the Hall, to receive and entertain 
the Joint Committee of Congress, the committee of the State of South 
Carolina, and the friends and mourners of the deceased, as guests of the 
town. 

6th. That Jordan Branch, Esq., be appointed Marshal, with authority 
to appoint assistants. 

7th. That the citizens be requested to send their carriages to the 

depot at half-past 10 o'clock. 

CHARLES CORLING, ^ 
ANDREW KEVAN, - Committe. 
TH031AS WALLACE. ) 

• - 
The following extracts from Mr. Corliug's letter, will be read with 

interest. 

" 1 rejoice to say that our entire Magistracy and Common Council, 
in a body, attended the remains from the Richmond depot ; and the 
citizens with great unanimity, I'esponded to the recommendations of the 
committee, sanctioned by the people and our Common Hall. The third 
resolution only contemplated detachments of the Volunteers to protect 
the procession and guard the remains ; but all the Volunteers insisted 
upon uniting in the last offices of respect to one whose death is felt tu 
be a common loss," 

" The Petersburgh Grays — Capt. Joseph V. Scott. 
" Petersburgh Artillery' — Capt. D'Arcey Paul, 
" Cockade Blues — Capt. Robert Downan, 
and " Petersburgh Riflemen — Capt. James S. Gilliam, 
constituted the inilitary who took part in tlu; procession. 



60 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

" We deeply regretted that we could not, by more than mere outward 
demonstrations of respect, evince to you how deeply we sympathised 
in South Carolina's and our country's loss. We loved and admired 
John C. Calhoun. With a mind that could grasp the affairs of a 
universe, he possessed a heart that made him ever accessible to the 
humblest of his fellow citizens. Differ with him as men might, yet all 
admitted him to be the man of the age. The fame of South Carolina 
will grow prouder in the annals of history, because her glories are linked 
forever with the memory of her illustrious son." 

Marshall. 
Jordan Branch, Esq. 

Assistant Marshalls. 
Charles F. Collier, John Rowlett, 

Robert Foster, Daniel Dodson, 

Gr. V. Rambant, Franklin Pegram. 

The array of equipages both at Richmond and at Petersburgh, at- 
tracted general attention. Many of them were elegant ; all of them in 
good taste. These were all private equipages, sent by the citizens for 
the accommodation of the committees, officers, deputations, and others 
composing the cortege. The coachmen and footmen at both cities were 
distinguished by long bands of fine white cambric, on black hats, and 
tied with black ribbons, and by like bands tied around the left arm. 



PROCEEDINGS AT WILMINaTON, NORTH CAROLINA. 

Extract from the Programme of Arrangements. 

"A committee often, consisting of — 
A. J. DeRossett, Sen. James Owen, 

James F. McRee, Sen. Thomas H. Wright, 

P. R. Dickinson, John Walker, 

Wm. C. Bettencaurt, Thomas Loring, 

y. J. Hill, of Brunswick, James Iredell, of Raleigh, 

will proceed up the line of the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad, to 
receive the remains, and escort them on their passage through this 
place. These gentlemen will also act as Pall-bearers in the procession. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF TWENTY-FIVE. 61 

'*The citizens generally, are requested to close their stores, to sus- 
pend all operations of business, and to meet at the depot at 12 o'clock. 
There the procession will be formed, under the direction of W. C. 
Howard, Chief Marshall ; receive the remains in open order, and escort 
them to the foot of Market street, where the boat from Charleston will 
be in waiting." 

The following gentlemen acted as Marshalls : 

CUef Marshall. 
William C. Howard. 

Assistant Marshalls. 
J. G. Green, E. W. Hall. 

Crape was provided by the City for the Clergy, Pall-bearers, and 
citizens. 

The following gentlemen formed the deputations from the City of 
Wilmington, and the Board of the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad 
company, who accompanied the remains to Charleston, by invitation, viz : 
Dr. A. J. DeRosett, Sen., Chairman of deputation of Wilmington, 
Gen. James Owen, Chairman of deputation of Railroad Board. 
C. W. Hull, J. T. M'Kee, 

R. H. Cowan, J. G. Green, 

C. D. Ellis, A. A. Brown, 

L. H. Marsteller, Dr. J. Swann, 

E. Cantwell, p. M. Walker, 

H. NuTT, James T. Miller, 

J. Fulton, H. R. Savage, 

M. Costin, Dr. DeRossett, Jr. 

John Cowan Wm. C. Bettencaurt. 



MINUTES OF THE FINAL MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE 

OF TWENTY-FIVE. 

Council Chamber, 
Charleston, May 24, 1850. 
At a meeting of the Committee of Twenty-five, appointed by his Ex- 
cellency, the Governor, there were present, Daniel Ravenel, Esq., 
Chairman ; Samuel G. Tupper, Secretary ; Messrs. DeSaussure, Huger, 



62 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

Lowndes, Aiken, E. M. Seabrook, Bryan, Moise, Jr., Reynolds, Jr., 
Torre, Russell, Legare and Edmondston. 

The Chairman submitted a communication, received by him from his 
Excellency, Governor Seabrook, requesting him to furnish a narrative 
of the proceedings of the committee from the time of their departure 
from Charleston until their return. The Chairman then read a letter in 
reply, which he had prepared; being a full report of proceedings and 
incidents connected with the visit of the committee to Washington, in 
which particular reference was made to the many and imposing solemni- 
ties which marked the transit of the remains of Mr. Calhoun from 
Washington to Charleston. 

Mr. DeSaussure, after expressing his great satisfaction with the re- 
port, moved that it be approved of by the committee, and that the 
Chairman be requested to place the same in the hands of his Excellency 
the Governor; which was unanimously adapted. 

On motion of f]x-Gov. Aiken, it was 

Resolved, That the Chairman be requested to write out and communi- 
cate to the Governor, with his report for publication, the addresses 
made by him at Richmond. 

Mr. Moise having expressed a desire to offer a resolution in refer- 
ence to the Chairman, the Chairman retired, when Alfred Huger, 
Esq., was called to the Chair. Mr. Moise then offered complimentary 
resolutions in reference to the Chairman and Chairman pro. tern, of 
the conniiittee, which were unanimously adopted, and Mr. Huger was 
requested to transmit them to the Governor. 

On the return of the Chairman, Mr. Ravenel, he was impressively 
addressed by Mr. Huger, and the substance of the above resolutions 
communicated to him ; to which Mr. Ravenel feelingly responded in 
acknowledgment of the compliment. 

Col. Seabrook then offered a resolution of thanks to the Secretary 
and Treasurer of the committee, which was unanimously adopted, with 
a request that the Chairman would communicate the same to Governor 
Seabrook. 

The committee then adjourned sine die. 

S. Y. TUPPER, Secretary. 

Note. — In compliance with one of the above resolutions, the report of the 
Committee of Twenty-Five was so modified as to include, as part of the narrative, 
the several addresses made at Richmond. 



UEPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF TWENTY-FIVE. 63 

EXTRACT FKOM THPJ MTXUTES OF A MEETING OF THE 
COMMITTEE OF TWENTY-FIVE. 

Tlie Chairman liavinp- left the r>,om, after the adoption of his report 
by the committee, the IIou. Alfred linger was requested to take the 
Chair. 

A. Moise, Jr., Esq., then rose, and solicited for a short time the 
attention of the committee, as this jieeting would, in all probability, be 
its last. It had been charged with duties the most sacred and respon- 
sible. The mission upon which it had been sent by South Carolina, 
was perhaps the most solemn, delicate, and interesting, which she had 
ever delegated to her sous. That mission had now become a subject of 
deep historic interest, and the touching incidents associated with it, 
would not soon fade from the public mind ana heart. It was indeed 
vividly impressed upon both. It was an event in which not only South 
( 'arolina, but the whole nation, had manifested an intense interest, and 
yielded a universal and spontaneous sympathy. 

Mr. Moise said that much of the difficulty and responsibility which 
the duties of the committee involved, had necessarily fallen upon its 
Chairman, Daniel Ravencl, Esq. ; and he would avail of the temporary 
absence of that gentleman to submit what he felt assured would meet u 
prompt and cordial response. 

Mr. Moise then offered the following resolutions : 

Remlcrd, That the committee appointed by his Excellency the 
Grovernor, to convey to South Carolina the remains of the Hon. John 
C. Calhoun, desire to place on record their high appreciation of the 
services of their Chairman, Daniel Ravenel, Esq. The entire propriety, 
and delicacy of sentiment, conspicuous in the discharge of his varied 
duties, have not failed deeply to impress his colleagues ; and the un- 
affected modesty which graced his whole deportment, while it has 
increased their estimation of the successful service he has rendered, 
admonishes them to say no more on the present occasion. Less, they 
could not say, in justice to themselves. 

Resolved, That the acknowledgments of the committee are also due 
the Hon. Henry A. DeSaussure, for the zeal, urbanity, and dignity, 
with which he conducted the duties of Chair, during the necessary 
absence of the Chairman. 

Resolved, That a copy of these proceedings be sent by the Secretary 
to the Hon. Alfred Huger, with the rc(|ue8t that they be transmitted 
to his J]xcellency the Governor for publication, with the report of 
Daniel Ravenel, Esq. 

The resolutions were seconded by Col. P. Delia Torre, and unani- 
mously adopted. 

SAMUEL Y. TUPPER, Secretary. 

Charleston, May, 1850. 



64 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

Charleston, June 1, 1850. 
Dear Sir : At the last meeting of the Committee of Twenty-five, 
the preamble and resolutions herewith enclosed, were, during the tem- 
porary absence of Mr. Ravenel, unanimously adopted. 

The committee have instructed me to request that these resolutions 
be appended to the " Nari'ative " of our mournful mission ; a document 
which is submitted to your Excellency by your own desire. 
I have the honor to be, 

With great respect, 

Your obedient servant, 

ALFRED HUGER. 
His Excellency, Gov. Seahrook. 



NAraiATlYE 

OF THE FUNERAL HONORS PAID TO THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN, AT 

CHARLESTON, S. C. 

On the evening of the yist March, 1850, telegraphic dispatches 
from Washington announced the death of the Hon. J. C. Calhoun, at 
the seat of Government. The next day, when the intelligence became 
generally known, the dejection that dwelt upon the countenances of all, 
revealed the public sense of the deep calamity that had fallen upon the 
country ; a settled gloom rested upon the city of Charleston ; the busy 
operations of life were suspended, and the heart of the whole community 
seemed for awhile to stand still. The bells of St. Michael's Church 
were tolled throughout the day, and the shipping in harbor displayed 
their colors at half mast ; the melancholy truth was apparent that 
Calhoun was no more ! 

All that now remained for an aiBicted people, was to endeavor to 
clothe the public sentiment of love and veneration for his memory, with 
those external demonstrations of respect to all that was mortal, com- 
mensurate with his exalted virtue and public service. 

The City Council immediately convened, when the sad intelligence 
was officially communicated by the Mayor, and the following resolutions 
unanimously adopted : 

^^ Resolved, That Council have heard with feelings of deep emotion, 
the death of the Hon. J. C. Calhoun, in whose decease the country 
has lost a patriot, distinguished by long and illustrious service, and the 
State a cherished and devoted son. 

^'Resolved, That in token of respect to the eminent abilities and 
elevated virtues of the deceased, a suitable monument be forthwith 
erected to his memory in the centre of the city square, and that a com- 
mittee of Council, of which his Honor the Mayor shall be Chairman, 
be appointed to carry out the intention of this resolution. 

^^ Resolved, That a committee of Council be also appointed to co- 
operate, if desired, with any committee of citizens that may be appointed 
to-morrow evening, in making all proper and necessary arrangements 
for the reception of the body of the deceased, as well as in paying other 
suitable marks of reapect to his memory. 



66 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

^'Resolved, That the Mayor be requested to communicate these reso- 
lutions to the family of the deceased, tendering to them the sympathies 
of Council in this, their afflicting bereavement." 

The next evening, the 2d April, pursuant to a call at the desire of 
the citizens, a public meeting was held at the City Hall. Long before 
the appointed hour, a dense crowd, i-epresenting all classes and interests, 
thronged the hall. The meeting was organized by the call of the Hon. 
T. L. Hutchinson, Mayor of the city, to the chair, and the appointment 
of F. P. Porcher and H. P. Walker, Esqrs., Secretaries. The Chair- 
man[[thus announced the object of the meeting : 

"Fellow Citizens: The occasion that draws us together is the 
saddest that has ever darkened the hearts of Carolinians. A great 
affliction has befallen the land ; an especial calamity has overshadowed 
us. A nation mourns, but ours is the peculiar grief. Calhoun is no 
more ! The foremost spirit of the time has been quenched forever. 
The incorruptible patriot, the statesman without guile j the orator upon 
whose accents Senates hung in silence; the honest politician, whose love 
of country taught him to forget the love of self; the public man who, 
with every incentive and every opportunity for personal aggrandizement, 
scorned all ways as unsanctified, that swerved one hair's breadth from 
truth and rectitude ; who devoted a life of forty years to the service of 
his country, moving in an independent sphere, for it may justly be said, 
that he was allied to no political sect, but held himself aloof, to stand 
forth when duty called him to sway by his reason and his judgment, 
the impulses of the hour to the right course; and amid the perils and 
contentions of forty years, the strife of party and the asperity of pre- 
judice, has left a spotless fame, and a career that makes ambition virtue. 

'' He was the defender of Southern right, the guardian of the Con- 
stitution, an ardent lover of the Union; his searching foresight first 
detected in their remotest depths those evils which he foretold would 
arise to endanger the political bands that secure this Confederacy — and 
whose shadows now darkening around and above us, have endowed him 
with a prophet's vision; whose dying words, spoken as if from the 
tomb, have pointed the means whereby these dangers may be averted, 
and the peace and harmony of the country restored — his last legacy to 
the people and the Union he loved so well. 

"The death of Mr. Calhoun is an affliction that comes directly home 
to 'men's business and bosoms;' at this particular period, when the 
eyes of all men were upon him, and the hopes of the South rested in 
him, as an ark amid the political blackness lowering around, this dis- 
pensation of Providence comes with stunning effect. He has left his 



REPORT OF THE MAYOR OF CHARLESTON. 67 

life as a model, his precepts as our guide. High as is the estimate of 
his ability and public service, he stands too near us to permit his intel- 
lect and its effects upon the age, to be viewed in all its noble propor- 
tions — time will place future generations in the proper position to survey 
him with just admiration. He belongs to posterity; but even now, 
since death has veiled the mortal man, he appears to the mental eye 
like some great statue of antiquity — classic in outline, dignified in pos- 
ture, majestic and serene — his purity gleaming from the lustre of the 
marble, and standing in bold relief against the blue of heaven. 

''He has taken his place among the master spirits of the universe, 
sent for some wise end, whose mission is to be achieved. 'Thouo-h 
dead he yet speaketh.' The work allotted to him by his Divine master 
may be left unfinished, but the foundation is traced, the structure de- 
signed, the influence of his mind and its deep-seated wisdom remaius^ — 
the future will confirm that he is one of 

"The dead but scepter'd sovereigns, wlio still rule 
Our spirits from their urns." 

" The annuls uf his country, for nearly a half century, are his bio- 
graphy. His proper eulogy belongs to the historian, who has only to 
recount with truthfulness the actions of his life, in their public and 
private relations, to shew to the worid the excellence of the gift be- 
stowed by God, and the reasonableness of a nation's grief that dej^lores 
his loss. 

"The object of the present meeting is to give expression to the 
bereavement felt by this community, and to adopt such measures of 
respect to his memory as the occasion demands." 

The Hon. F. H. Elmore, laboring under severe indisposition, ad- 
dressed himself briefly to the subject of the meeting, and moved the 
adoption of the following Preamble and Resolutions. 

The citizens of Charleston, in common with the people of the whole 
State of South Carolina, feel that an irreparable misfortune has befallen 
us in the death of our SeiKitor John Caldwell Calhoun. He has 
been endeared to us by more than forty years of faithful services, first 
in our State Legislature, and afterward in the Federal Government. 
In all that time, and on all occasions of public need, when his State or 
his country called (and on no great emergency did they faifto do so) he 
put every object of personal or selfish advantage aside, and surrendered 
himself wholly to the public good. 

To us, to South Carolina, we all know he gave the unlimited devotioji 
of his pure heart. To us, and to his whole country, in common, he 



68 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN, 

yielded, with prodigality, all the capacities of his mighty mind ; a 
wisdom gained in the deepest study of our Constitution and system of 
government, and ripened by his own long experience and reflections on 
its administration ; a knowledge of national and State afftilrs, and of 
their relations with great measures and interests, unsurpassed ; abilities 
pre-eminent in every department of governmental science, and our in- 
ternal policy; and a statesmanship and sagacity far-seeing, profound, 
comprehensive and patriotic. 

Honesty, candor and truthfulness, imparted to these great and shining 
qualities, a higher power and wider influence over the opinions of his 
countrymen and the policy of their government, than even his brilliant 
genius and commanding intellect. And this power and influence so 
honorably acquired, was ever as usefully employed, on all domestic 
questions, in the side of justice, moderation and constitutional right ; 
and in our relations with Foreign Powers, for the maintenance of our 
national honor, and the preservation of peace with all nations of the 
world. 

By the use he made of his great capacities, Mr. Calhoun has run 
up a heavy debt on his country, and on mankind — a debt which will be 
more and more felt and acknowledged in the progress of future times. 
The lessons of his wisdom and the lights of his knowledge cannot now 
be lost. They will guide, not only our own and other times, but our 
own and other nations. Although he has gone from us forever, these 
and his example remain — a great example of forty years in the affairs 
of life — forty eventful and trying years, in which, while discharging 
many high public trusts, and fuliilling the duties of the home circle, 
as the father of a family, friend and neighbor, there is not a blot or 
stain upon his purity or uprightness as a public man or private citizen; 
no reproach for backwardness or doubt in assuming the position of duty, 
or of slackness or want of firmness or fidelity in maintaining it. 

In all that long period, he was ever in the advanced front of every 
great national question, and maintained openly and manfully, on all 
occasions, what he deemed right, with a courage that was never subdued 
or gave way. In his private life, he was deserving of all commendation 
for the simplicity and frugality of his style of living ; for his modest 
and hearty hospitality; for his constant and active industry. He was 
no less deserving of admiration in public affairs, for his high resolve 
and unconquerable spirit. And above all others, in this last act, which 
is just finished, has he, at a moment and iu a cause where such an ex- 
ample has inappreciable value, given us a lesson of patriotism and of 
exalted courage, far more heroic than a thousand deaths in the field of 



REPORT OF THE MAYOR OF CHARLESTON. 69 

battle, in calmly and I'esolutely surrendering his life, througli the slow 
process of months and laonths of wasting disease, rather than abandon 
the post where the call of duty stationed him. Be it therefore 

Resolved, That we, the citizens of Charleston, deplore the death of 
our Senator, John Caldwell Calhoun, as a heavy and irreparable 
public misfortune. 

Resolved, That we concur in the arrangements made by the City 
Council for the reception of the body of Mr. Calhoun, and that his 
Excellency, the Grovernor, be requested to appoint a committee, to con- 
sist of twenty-five persons, to proceed to Washington, to procure and 
bring his remains to Charleston, and to co-operate in all other measures 
for their final disposition. 

Resolved, That this meeting also highly apjirove the resolution of the 
City Council to erect a monument to his memory in the city square, as 
a fitting tribute to a faithful and illustrious public servant. 

Resolved, That the City Council of Charleston be requested to select 
some fit and proper person to prepare and deliver an eulogy and funeral 
oration on the life, character, and services of Mr. Calhoun. 

Resolved, That this meeting recommend that the usual badge of 
mourning be worn by all for thirty days. 

Resolved, That this meeting deeply sympathise with the family of 
Mr. Calhoun in their affliction and loss; and that the Chairman of 
this meeting be requested to forward them copies of these proceedings. 

His Excellency Governor Whitemarsh B. Seabrook, in seconding the 
motion of the Hon. F. H. Elmore, feelingly alluded to the loss the 
State had sustained. 

The meeting was then eloquently addressed by the Hon. B. F. Porter 
and Col. Arthur P. Hayne, when the question was taken, and the pre- 
amble and resolutions were unanimously adopted. 

0. A. Andrews, Esq., rose, and felicitously alluded to the assiduous 
attention paid by the Hon. Mr. Venable, of North Carolina, and other 
friends, to our deceased Senator, during his last illness, and moved the 
adoption of the following resolution : 

Resolved, That the devoted attention and active sympathy whicli 
marked the course of the Hon. Mr. Venable, of North Carolina, and 
other friends, to our deceased Senator, have excited our profound sensi- 
bility. We feel that in ministering to him, they have also ministered 
to us. We will cherish these offices of kindness to our departed states- 
man in grateful recollection. 

Which was also unanimously adopted. 

In accordance with the second resolution adopted at the public meet- 
ing, his Excellency, the Governor, appointed the following (^ommittee 
of Twentv-five : 

Daniel Eavenel, Chairman. John E. Carew, 

H. W. Conner, Col. James Gadsden, 



70 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTK TO CALHOUN. 

H. A. DeSaussure, C. G. Memminger, 

Col. James Legare, Chas. T. Lowndes, 

Col. E. M. Seabrook, P. Della Torre, 

James Rose, Thomas Lehre, 

Henry Gourdin, Col. A. P. Hayne, 

Alfred Huger, Chas. Edmondston, 

S. Y. TuppER, A. G. Magrath, 

Mm. M. Martin, A. Moise, Jr., 

P. C. Gaillard, Geo. N. Reynolds, 

Wm. Aiken, John Russell.* 

G. A. Trenholm, 
On the 5tli April, the City Council again assembled, and in con- 
formity with the fourth resolution, adopted at the public meeting of citi- 
zens, appointed General Hammond to deliver the funeral oration on the 
life, character and services of Mr. Calhoun. The following communi- 
cation was then read : 

Charleston, April 5, 1850. 

To the Honorable the Mayor and Aldermen : 

Gentlemen : At a meeting, held this day, of the Committee of 

Twenty-five, appointed by his Excellency, the Governor, to proceed to 

Washington to receive and bring home the remains of the Hon. J. C 

Calhoun, the following resolution was adopted, which is respectfully 

submitted for the consideration and action of your honorable body : 

Jiesolved, That as it has been communicated to this committee that 
the Senate of the United States has made a special deputation to attend 
the body of Mr. Calhoun to the State of South Carolina, the Chairman 
of this committee be requested to communicate this information to the 
Mayor and Aldermen of the city of Charleston ; and that in consequence 
of this information, it be respectfully suggested to the City Council to 
appoint a committee from the parishes of St. Philip and St. Michael, to 
co-operate with the committee of Council, in reference to such arrange- 
ments as may be necessary in connection with the expected arrival of 

the body of Mr. Calhoun. 

DANIEL RAVENEL, Chairman. 

Whereupon the following resolution was adopted : 

Resolved, That the Mayor appoint a committee of forty citizens of 
the parishes of St. Philip and St. Michael, to co-operate with the com- 
mittee from Council, in making all necessary arrangements for the re- 
ception of the remains of Mr. Calhoun. 

*The duties assigned to tliis committee, and the completeness with -which they 
were performed, are detailed in the interesting report of the Chairman of the 
Committee. 



REPORT OF THE MAYOR OF CHARLESTON. 



71 



The following resolutions were also severally moved and adopted : 

Resolved, That in the opinion of Council, the city of Charleston, the 
chief metropolis of the State, may, with propriety, ask for herself the 
distinction of being selected as the final resting place of the illustrious 
Calhoun; and that the Mayor, in behalf of Council and the citizens of 
Charleston, be requested to communicate with the family of the deceased, 
and earnestly entreat that the remains of him we loved so well should 
be permitted to repose among us. 

Resolved, That the Mayor be further requested to communicate with 
his Excellency, the Governor of the State, and respectfully solicit his 
co-operation in this matter. 

Resolved, That his Honor, the Mayor, by proclamation, request the 
citizens of Charleston to suspend all business on the day of the arrival 
of the remains of our late Senator, John C. Calhoun, in order that 
every citizen may be able to pay a last tribute of respect to him who 
served us so long, so faithfully, and so well. 

In conformity with the resolutions adopted by the City Council, the 
following committee of citizens was appointed to co-operate with the 
committee from Council in making arrangements incident to the occa- 
sion : 



Chancellor B. P. DuNKiN, 
Hon. E. Frost, 
Hon. J. S. Ashe, 
Hon. W. D. Porter, 
Hon. W. J. Grayson, 
N. Heyward, 
James Simons, 
D. E. HuGER, junr. 
Nelson Mitchell, 
F. D. Richardson, 
W. H. Houston, 
J. L. Petigru, 

F. Lanneau, 
I. W. Hayne, 
W. B. Prinqle, 
W. C. Dukes, 
John Rutledge, 
Gen. Schnierle, 

T. TUPPER, 

Robert Adger, 

G. N. Reynolds, 
W. M. Lawton, 



E. Sebring, 
Robert Martin, 
David Lopez, 
Dr. Bellinger, 
J. H. Ladson, 
And. McDowall, 
A. J. White, 
W. J. Bennett, 

R. N. GOURDIN, 

J. F. Blacklock, 
M. C. Mordecai, 
Wm. Lloyd, 
Wm. Middleton, 
S. J. Wagner, 
Wm. Bird, 
Dr. T. Y. Simons, 
G. S. Bryan, 
R. W. Hare, 
Alex. Gordon, 

Dr. HORLBECK, 

E. L. Kerrison, 
Charles Brennan. 



72 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

The committee on the part of the City Council were Aldermen Banks, 
Gilliland, Porcher, McNellage, and Drummond. 

The committee at once entered upon the varied duties assigned them 
— they divided themselves into sub-committees, each charged with its 
specific duty. The magnitude of the arrangements, the short period of 
time allowed for their completion, and the ultimate success that crowned 
the whole when put into action, attest the energy, zeal, and correct 
taste exercised on the occasion. A Chief Marshal, A. G. Magrath, 
Esq., twelve Marshals and twelve Assistant Marshals, were appointed 
to prepare and arrange the order of Procession. A special Guard of 
Honor, Col. A. 0. Andrews, Chairman, was nominatpd, charged with 
the duty of being in constant attendance on the remains, to render all 
necessary aid in their removal, from the time of their arrival to their 
deposit in the City Hall. A committee, consisting of two hundred of 
some of the most respected citizens, the venerable Jacob Bond Ton, 
Chairman, was also appointed to serve as an Honorary Guard over the 
remains while they lay in state in the City Hall, and to distribute 
themselves into separntc watches during the night. 

In various parts of the State, public meetings were held expressive 
of the general grief, and deputations appointed to repair to Charleston 
to participate in the funeral ceremonies — to these deputations the hospi- 
talities of the city of Charleston were tendered, through the municipal 
authorities, and committees appointed to meet them on their arrival, 
and provide for their comfort. 

The Directors of the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad tendered a 
free passage along their line, and the Steamers of the Company, to the 
committee appointed by the Executive of South Carolina — the friends 
and relatives of the deceased, and the funeral cortege that should 
accompany the remains — the States through which the body was to 
pass on its homeward way seemed with one accord to rise up and do 
reverence to his memory. 

The boom of the signal gun over the waters of Charleston harbor, on 
the morning of the 25th of April, announced that the mortal remains 
of Carolina's great Statesman were approaching their native shores to 
receive the last honors of a mourning people. At 12 M., the steamer 
Nina, bearing the Body, touched Smith's wharf — on board were the 
committee of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, 
the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate, the committee of citizens from 
Wilmington, Sovih. Carolina, the committee of twenty-five from South 
Carolina, and the sub-committee of arrangements. The revenue cutter 
Gallatin, the steamers Metamora and Pilot, acting as an escort, with 



REPORT OF THE MAYOR OF CHARLESTON. 73 

colors at half mast and draped in mourning, lay in lier wake. Profound 
silence reigned around — 'Uo idle spectator loitered on the spot — the 
curiosity incident to the hour was merged into a deep feeling of respect, 
that evinced itself by being present only where that sentiment could 
with most propriety be displayed. The solemn minute gun — the wail 
of the distant bell, the far off spires shrouded in the drapery of grief — ■ 
the hearse and its attendant mourners waiting on the spot, alone bore 
witness that the pulse of life still beat within the city — that a whole 
people in voiceless woe were about to receive and consign to earth all 
that was mortal of a great and good citizen. The arrangements for 
landing having been made, the committee of reception advanced, and 
through its Chairman tendei-ed a welcome, and the hospitalities of the 
city, to the committee of citizens from Wilmington, North Carolina, 
to v/hich the Chairman of that committee feelingly responded. The 
body, enclosed in an iron case, partially shaped to the form, was then 
borne by the Guard of Honor (clad in deep mourning, with white silk 
scarfs across the shoulder,) from the boat to the magnificent funeral 
Car drawn up to receive it ; the pall prepared of black velvet, edged 
with heavy silk fringe, and enflounced in silver, with the escutcheon of 
the State of South Carolina in the centre and four corners, was spread 
over it. The Pall Bearers, composed of twelve Ex-Governors and 
Lieut-Governors of the State, arranged themselves at the sides of the 
Car, the procession advanced, preceded by a military escort of threo 
companies, the German Fusiliers, Washington Light Infantry, and 
Marion Artillery, under the command of Captain ]\Lanigault. The 
various committees and family of the deceased followed in carriages, 
the drivers and footmen clad in mourning, with hatbands and scarf's of 
white crape. In this order the funeral train slowly moved forward to 
the sound of muffled drums to the Citadel square, the place assigned in 
the arrangements made where the committee from the Senate of the 
United States would surrender the remains under their charge to the 
Executive of South Carolina, and the funeral procession proceed to the 
City Hall. 

At the Citadel a most imposing spectacle was presented. The entire 
front and battlements were draped in mourning, and its wide portal 
heavily hung with black — the spacious area on the South was densely 
filled with the whole military force of the city drawn up in proper array ; 
at different points, respectfully assigned them, stood the various orders 
of Free Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Sons of 
Temperance, the Order of Reehabites, in their rich regalia, the different 
Fire Companies in i;niform, the various Societies and Associations — the 



74 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

pupils of public aud private schools with their tutors, bearing banners 
inscribed with the names of the several States of the confederacy, 
their arms and mottoes. The Seamen, with their Pastor, Rev. Mr. 
Yates, bearing a banner with this inscription, "The Children of Old 
Ocean mourn for him " — and citizens on horse and foot. The most 
perfect order prevailed ; no sound was heard, but the subdued murmer 
of the collected thousands. At the appointed hour the funeral Car 
slowly entered the grounds from the East, and halted before the gates 
of the Citadel; the hush of death brooded over all as the hea'rse, 
towering aloft, its mournful curtains waving in air, revealed to the 
assembled multitude the sarcophagus reposing within. 

In the centre of the square, and directly fronting the gates of the 
Citadel, stood the Governor of the State, attended by the members of 
the Senate and House of Representatives and the Delegates from dif- 
ferent sections of the State. On the right the Mayor and Aldermen of 
the city, habited in deep mourning, their wands of office bound with 
crape ; on the left, the Rev. the Clergy of all denominations. In front 
of the funeral Car were arranged the various committees who had at- 
tended the removal of the remains from the seat of Government; at the 
proper moment they slowly advanced with heads uncovered, preceded 
by the Sergeant-at-Arms of the U. S. Senate, with his golden rod, to 
the spot occupied by the Governor and Suite. Alderman Banks, 
Chairman of the committee of Reception, stood forth, and announced 
to the Governor the presence of the Hon. Mr. Mason, Chairman of the 
Senate's committee, who, with a manner deeply solemn and impressive, 
thus surrendered his sacred trust : 

" Governor Seah^'ook : 

" The Senate of the United States, by its order, has deputed a com- 
mittee of six Senators, to bring back the remains of their colleague, 
your illustrious statesman, John Caldwell Calhoun, to his native 
State. He fell in the fullness of his fame, without stain or blot, without 
fear and without reproach, a martyr to the great and holy cause to which 
his life had been devoted, the safety and equality of the Southern 
States in their federal alliance. 

It is no disparagement to your State or her people, to say their loss 
is irreparable, for Calhoun was a man of a century ; but to the entire 
South, the absence of his counsels can scarcely be supplied : with a 
judgment stern, with decided and indomitable purpose, there was united 
a political and moral purity, that threw around him an atmostphere 
which nothing unholy could breathe and yet live. But, sir, I am not 
sent here to eulogize your honored dead ; that has been already done 



REPORT OP THE MAYOR OF CHxiRLESTON. 75 

in the Senate House, with the memories of his recent triumphs there 
clustering around us, and by those far abler than I. It is our melan- 
choly duty only, which I have performed on behalf of the committee of 
the Senate, to surrender all that remains of him on earth to the State 
of South Carolina, and having done this, our mission is ended. We 
shall return to our duties in the Senate, and those performed, to our 
separate and distant homes, bearing with us the treasured memory of 
his exalted worth and the great example of his devoted and patriotic 
life."" 

Mr Mason having concluded. Governor Seabrook responded : 

" I receive, Mr. Chairman, with the deepest emotions, the mortal 
remains of him for whom South Carolina entertained an unbounded 
affection. Implicitly relying on the faithful exercise of his great moral 
and intellectual endowments, on no occasion, for a period of about forty 
years, which constituted indeed his whole political life, did her confi- 
dence in him suffer the slightest abatement. Although the spirit that 
animated its tenement of clay now inhabits another and a purer mansion, 
yet the name of John Caldwell Calhoun will live while time shall 
be permitted to endure. That name is printed in indelible characters 
on the hearts of those whose feelings and opinions he so truly reflected, 
and will forever be fondly cherished, not only by his own coiintrymen, 
but by every human bei^g who is capable of appreciating the influence 
of a gigantic intellect, unceasingly incited by the dictates of wisdom, 
virtue, and patriotism. 

** In the name of the people of the State he so dearly loved, I tender, 
through you, to the Senate of the United States, their warmest acknow- 
ledgments for the honors conferred by that distinguished body on the 
memory of our illustrious statesman ; and, by this committee, I ask 
their acceptance of their heartfelt gratitude for the very kind and con- 
siderate manner in which, gentlemen, the melancholy yet honorable 
task assigned you has been executed. 

"The first of April, 1850, exhibited a scene in the halls of the 
Federal Congress remarkable for its moral sublimity. On that day, the 
North and the South, the East and the West, together harmoniously 
met at the altar consecrated to the noblest affections of our nature, and 
moved by a common impulse, portrayed in strains of fervid eloquence, 
before the assembled wisdom of the land, the character and services of 
him around whose bier we are assembled. To everv member of the 
Senate and House of Representatives, whose voice was heard on that 
solemn occasion. South Carolina proffers the right hand of fellowship. 

"I trust it will not be considered a departure from the .strictest rules 



75 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

of propriety, to say to an honorable member of Congress before me, that 
the Palmetto State owes him a debt of gratitude which, at her bidding, 
and in obedience to my own feelings, I am imperatively summoned at 
this time to liquidate in part. From the first day of Mr. Calhoun's 
protracted illness, to the moment when death achieved his victory, you, 
Mr. Venable, were rarely absent from his bed-side. With the anxious 
solicitude of a devoted friend, you ministered to his wants, and watched 
the reflux of that noble stream whose fertilizing powers were about to 
be buried in the great ocean of eternity. For services so disinterested, 
spontaneously bestowed by a stranger, I offer the tribute of thanks, 
warm, from overflowing hearts." 

Mr. Venable replied : 

"The manner in which your Excellency has been pleased to refer to 
the attention which I was enabled to bestow on our illustrious friend, 
has deeply afi"ected my heart. It is but the repeated expression of the 
feelings of the people of Charleston, on the same subject, contained in 
a resolution which has reached me, and for which manifestation of kind- 
ness, I now return to you and to them my most sincere and heartfelt 
thanks. Nothing has so fully convinced me of the extended popularity, 
I should rather say, feeling of veneration, towards the statesman, whose 
death has called us together to-day, as the high estimate which you and 
your people have placed upon the services of an humble friend. Sir, 
the impulses of humanity would have demanded nothing less, and that 
man is more than rewarded who is permitted to soothe the pain or alle- 
viate the suffering of a philosopher, sage, patriot, and statesman, so 
exalted above his cotemporaries, that were we not admonished by his 
subjection to the invasion of disease and death, we might well doubt 
whether he did not belong to a superior race. To be even casually as- 
sociated with his memory, in the gratitude of a State, is more than a 
reward for any services which I could render him. Sir, as his life was 
a chronicle of instructive events, so his death but furnished a commen- 
tary on that life. It is said of Hampden, when in the agonies of 
death, rendered most painful by the nature of his wound, that he ex- 
claimed : ' God of my fathers, save, save my country !' thus breath- 
ina: the desire of his soul on earth into the vestibule of the court of 
heaven. So our illustrious friend, but a few hours before his departure, 
employed the last effort in which he was enable to utter more than a 
single sentence, saying, ' If I had my health and strength to devote 
one hour to my country in the Senate, I could do more than in my 
whole life.' He is gone ! and when, in my passage here, I saw the 
manifestations of deep feeling, of heartfelt veneration, in Virginia and 



REPORT OF THE MAYOR OP CHARLESTON. 77 

my own Caroliua, I felt as oue making a pilgrimage to the tomb of his 
father, whose sad heart was cheered by spontaneous testimonials of the 
merits of the one he loved and honored. But when, with this morn- 
ing's dawn, I approached your harbor and saw the city in the peaceful 
rest of the Sabbath, heard not the stroke of a hammer or the hum of 
voices engaged in the business of life; when, from the deck of the 
steamei", in the midst of your harbor, I could descry the habiliments of 
mourning which consecrated your houses — the stillness — the solemn 
stillness spoke a language that went to my heart. But when, added to 
this, I behold this vast multitude of mourners, I exclaim : ' A people's 
tears water the dust of one who loved and served them.' No military 
fame was his; he never set a squadron in the field. The death of the 
civilian and patriot who loved his country, and his whole country, gave 
rise to this s'reat demonstration of sorrow and regard. Permit me 
again to assure your Excellency and the people of Charleston, and of 
South Carolina, that I shall ever cherish, as one of the dearest recol- 
lections of my life, the expressions of kindness which have been made 
to me as the friend and the companion in the sick chamber of John C. 
Calhoun. His society and his friendship were more than a compen- 
sation for any attentions which any man could bestow. Such were his 
gifts, that whether in sickness or in health, no man retired from a con- 
versation with him wht) was not greatly his debtor. By the courtesies 
of this day and the association of my name with his, I am both his 
debtor and yours; the sincere acknowledgment of which, I tender to 
your Excellency, requesting that it may be received by you, both for 
yourself and the people whose sovereignty you represent." 

Governor Seabrook now turned to the Hon. T. Leger Hutchinson, 
Mayor of the city, and said : 

"Mr. Mayor: I commit to your care these precious remains. After 
the solemn ceremonies of the day, I request that you put over them a 
Guard of Honor, until the hour shall arrive to consign them to their 
temporary resting-place." 

To which the Mayor replied : 

"Gov. Seabrook : As the organ of the corporation of the city of 
Charleston, I receive from you, with profound emotion, the mortal 
remains of John Caldwell Calhoun — a sacred trust, confided to us, 
to be retained until the desire of the people of South Carolina, ex- 
pressed through their constituted authorities, shall be declared respecting 
their final resting-place." 

The ceremony of the reception of the body from the hands of the 
Senatorial committee by the Executive of the State being over, the 



78 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

members constituting the civic and military portions of the solemn 
pageant were, with consummate skill, arranged in their respective posi- 
tions by the Chief Marshal and his assistants. With order and pre- 
cision each department fell into its allotted place, and the whole mass 
moved onward, a vast machine, obeying with perfect motion, the 
impulse given by the directing power. 

The gates opening from the Citadel square upon Bou.. ^ary street, (the 
name since changed to Calhoun street,) through which the procession 
passed, were supported on each side by Palmetto trees, draped in 
mourning; from the branches which over-arched the gate-way hung the 
escutcheon of the State ; between the folds of funeral cloth, in which 
it was enveloped, appeared the inscription: "Carolina mourns." The 
following was the order and route of procession as laid down in the 
programme of Marshals : 

JMarshal. 

Music. 

Cavalry. 

Detachment of United States Troops from Fort Moultrie, under Col. 

Irwin. 

Troops of the 4th Brigade. 

Marshal. 

Sub-Committee of Ten. 

Mayor and Aldermen of the City, 

Funeral Car with the Body. 





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Family of the deceased. 
Senate Committee, and Committee of the House of Representatives. 

Committee of Twenty-five. 

Committee of Pendleton. 

Committee of Forty, and other Committees in attendance on the Body. 



REPORT OF THE MAYOR OP CHARLESTON. 79 

Marshal. 

Music. 

His Excellency tlie Governor, and Suite. 

Foreign Consuls. 

Civil and Military Officers of the United States. 

Civil and Military Officers of the State of South Carolina. 

Men ' >.is of the Senate and House of Representatives. 

lievolutionary Officers and Soldiers. 

Survivino- Officers and members of Palmetto Rcsriment. 

Committees and Delegates from South Carolina, and other States. 

Marshal. 

Music. 

Fire Department. 

Marshal. 

Music. 

Professors and Students of the Colleges of the State and City. 

Teachers and Scholars of High Schools, and of private Academics and 

Schools. 

Teachers and Scholars of Free Schools. 

Instructors and children of the Orphan House. 

Marshal. 



St. Andrew's Society. 

St. George's Society. 

South Carolina Society. 

Charleston Library Society. 

Fellowship Society. 

German Friendly Society. 

The Cincinnati. 

The '76 Association. 

St. Patrick's Benevolent Society. 

New England Society. 

Charleston Port Society. 

Hibernian Society. 

Medical Society. 

Hebrew Orphan Society. 

Mechanics' Society. 

Charleston Marine Society. 

Typographical Society. 

Charleston Chamber of Commerce. 

Hebrew Benevolent Society. 



80 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

French Benevolent Society. 

South Carolina Mechanics Association. 

JMethodist Benevolent Society. 

The Bible Society. 

Fourth of July Association. 

The Irish Mutual Benevolent Society. 

Marshal. 

Music. 

Order of Ancient Free Masons. 

Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 

Order of the Sons of Temperance. 

Independent Order of Rechabites. 

Marshal. 

Temperance Societies. 

IMarshal. 

Music. 

Captains of Vessels. 

Seamen in Port. 

Marshal. 

Citizens of the State, and adjoining States. 

Marshal. 

Citizens on Horseback. 

The procession moved from tlie Citadel square down Boundary to 

King Street, down King Street to Hasell, through Hasell to Meeting 

Street, down Meeting to South Bay Battery, along the Battery to East 

Bay, up East Bay to Broad Street to the City Hall. 

Along the streets through which the procession passed, the public 
and private buildings and temples of worship were draped with mourn- 
ing, the windows and doors of the houses were closed, and no one was 
seen to gaze upon the spectacle ; it seemed that those who did not par- 
ticipate directly in the obsequies, were mourning within. 

When the head of the escort reached the City Hall, it halted ; the 
troops formed into line on the South side of Broad Street, facing the 
City Hall. The funeral car, drawn by six horses, caparisoned in 
mourning trappings that touched the ground, each horse attended by a 
groom clad in black, slowly moved along the line until it reached the 
front steps of the City Hall. The division composing the procession 
then passed through the space intervening between the body and the 
military, with heads uncovered ; the Marshals having the respective 
divisions in charge, dismounted, and leading their horses, proceeded to 
the points where the divisions were to be dismissed. When the last 



REPORT OF THE MAYOR OF CHARLESTON. 81 

division had passed througli, the body was then removed from the fu- 
neral car by the Guard of Honor, borne up the steps, and received at 
the threshold of the City Hall by the Mayor and Aldermen; it was then 
deposited within the magnificent catafiilque prepared for its reception. 

Here the body remained in state until the next day, under the special 
charge of the Honorary Guard of two hundred citizens, who kept watch 
at intervals dui-ing the day and night. Thousands of citizens and 
strangers of all sexes, ages and conditions in life, repaired to the City 
Hall to pay their tribute of respect to the illustrious dead ; the most 
perfect propriety and decorum prevailed; the incessant stream of visiters 
entered by the main doors, passed upward to the catafalque, ascended, 
gazed upon the sarcophagus resting within, and in silence retired 
through the passage in the rear. The iron case that enshrined the 
body, and the tomb-shaped structure upon which it lay, were covered 
with flowers, the offerings of that gentler sex, who in sorrow had 
lingered around its precincts. 

The ceremonies of the day completed, the various deputations and 
committees of this and other States, who had repaired to the city in 
performance of the mournful duties assigned them, were invited to the 
Council Chamber, where the hospitalities of the city were tendered by 
the municipal authorities ; they were afterwards escorted to the lodg- 
ings provided for them by the committees appointed for the purpose. 
The committee from the Senate and House of Eepresentatives of the 
United States repaired to the head quarters of his Excellency, Gov. 
Seabrook, where they were received and entertained as the guests of 
South Carolina during their stay. 

The next day, the 26th of April, was appointed for the removal of 
the remains to the tomb- At early dawn the bells resumed their toll, 
business remained suspended, and all the evidences of public mourning- 
were continued. 

At 10 o'clock, a civic procession, under the direction of the Marshals, 
having been formed, the body was then removed from the catafiilque in 
the City Hall, and borne on a bier by the guard of honor to St. Philip's 
Church ; on reaching the church, which was draped in deepest mourn- 
ing, the cortege proceeded up the centre aisle to a stand covered with 
black velvet, upon which the bier was deposited. After an anthem 
sung by a full choir, the Eight Rev. Dr. Gadsden, Bishop of the 
Diocese, with great feeling and solemnity read the burial service, to 
which succeeded an eloquent funeral discourse by the llev. Mr. Miles. 
The holy rites ended, the body was again borne by the guard of honor 
to the western cemetery of the church, to the tomb erected for its tem- 
6 



82 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

porary abode, a solid structure of masonry raised above the surface, and 
lined with cedar wood. Near by, pendent from the tall spar that sup- 
ported it, drooped the flag of the Union, its folds mournfully sweeping 
the verge of the tomb, as swayed by the passing wind. Wrapped in 
the pall that first covered it on reaching the shores of Carolina, the 
iron coffin, with its sacred trust, was lowered to its resting-place, and 
the massive marble slab, simply inscribed with the name of '' Calhoun," 
adjusted to its position. The lingering multitude then slowly passed 
from the burial ground — 



e' 



" And we left him alone with his glory." 

The last offices of respect and veueiiition, such as no man ever 
received from the hearts and hands of Carolinians, had been rendered, 
but it was felt by all that no monument could be raised too high for his 
excellence, no record too enduring for his virtue. 

"Tanto nomini nullum par elogium," 

For many weeks after the interment, the marble that covered the 
tomb was daily strewn with roses and other fragrant flowers, and vases 
containing such, and filled with water freshly renewed, were placed 
around, the spontaneous offerings of the people. An oak, the emblem 
of his strength of character, was planted at the foot, and a willow, 
whose branches soon drooped over the grave, became a type of the 
general sorrow. 

T. L. HUTCHINSON, 
Mayor of Charleston. 



RESOLUTIONS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF CHARLESTON, 
IN RELATION TO THE DISPOSAL OF THE BODY OP 
MR. CALHOUN. 

Council Chamber, 
April 5, 1850. 

The following resolutions were unanimously adopted : 

Resolved, That in the opinion of Council, the city of Charleston — 
the chief metropolis of the State — may, with propriety, ask for herself 
the distinction of being selected as the final resting-place of the illus- 
trious Calhoun. And that his Honor, the Mayor, in behalf of Council 



RESOLUTIONS, LETTERS, ETC. 83 

and the citizens of Charleston, be requested to communicate with the 
family of the deceased, and earnestly entreat that the remains of him 
whom we loved so well should be permitted to repose amongst us. 

ResoUed, That the Mayor be further requested to communicate with 
his Excellency, the Governor of the State, and respectfully solicit his 
co-operation in this matter. 

From the minutes. 

JAMES C. NORRIS, Clerk of Council. 
To his Excelleiu-^/, 

Governor SeaLroo/c. 



TO T. L. HUTCHINSON, IN RELATION TO THE TEMPO- 
RARY DEPOSIT OF MR. CALHOUN'S REMAINS. 

Executive Department, 

Edisto Island, April 15, 1850. 
Hon. T. Leger Hutchinson, 

Sir: In my letter to you, of the 10th inst., I stated my resolution 
concerning the disposal of the remains of Mr. Calhoun, on their 
arrival in this State. 

Mr. Grourdin, on the part of the citizens of Charleston, and Mr. 
Banks, of the City Council, having called on me to reiterate the ardent 
desire of the people of your city, that the body of our illustrious states- 
man should temporarily be deposited in the metropolis, there to await 
the final action of the Legislature, it is only necessary for me to assure 
you, that to the wish of the sons of Mr. Calhoun, now, I believe, in 
Charleston, I shall most cheerfully assent. To them, therefore, I re-refer 
the delicate matter, in the firm persuasion that their decision will meet 
with universal approval. 

As germain to the subject, it is proper 1 should repeat what I per- 
sonally said to you, that whatever arrangements may be made by the 
people and authorities of Charleston, will be acceptable to me, without 
any interference on my part. I submit the mode and manner of accom- 
plishing the object in view to their judgment. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WHITEMARSH B. SEABROOK. 



84 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

FROM LIEUT. W. G. DeSAUSSURE, TENDERING THE SER- 
VICES OF THE WASHINGTON ARTILLERY TO GUARD 
THE REMAINS OF MR. CALHOUN ON THEIR ARRIVAL 
IN CHARLESTON. 

Charleston, April 15, 1850, 

To his Excellency, W. B. Seahrook, 

Governor of the State of South Carolina : 

Sir : Understanding that in the reception of the remains of Mr. 
Calhoun, the military of this place will be called upon to participate 
in the solemn ceremonies, I beg leave respectfully to tender to you as a 
Guard of Honor, during the night that the remains will rest in Charles- 
ton, the "Washington Artillery. 

I remain, sir, very respectfully. 

Your Excellency's obedient servant, 

WILMOT G. DeSAUSSURE, 
Lieut. Comd'y. Washington Artillery. 



Charleston, May 6, 1850. 

Dear Sir : At a meeting of the congregation of St. Philip's Church, 
held yesterday, the 5th inst., the following resolution was unanimously 
adopted, which I take great pleasure in sending to you : 

^^ Resolved, That the Vestry are hereby authorized to grant to the 
State the lot or square of land in our cemetery now occupied by the 
tomb of Mr. Calhoun, if it be determined upon as his burial place; 
and are requested to make no charge for its occupation temporarily for 
the deposit of his remains, should they be removed. 

I am, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

THOMAS G. PRIOLEAU. 
Chairman of the Vestry of St. Philip's Church. 

To Robert N. Gourdin, 

Chairman Sub- Committee, &c. 



RESOLUTIONS, LETTERS, ETC. 85 

RESOLUTIONS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF PENNSYLVA- 
NIA, IN RELATION TO THE DEATH OF MR. CALHOUN. 

Executive Chamber, 
Harrisburg, April 22, 1850. 

His Excellency, Whitemarsh B. Seahrook, 

Governor of the State of South Carolina. 

Dear Sir: The accompanying Resolutions of the Legislature of 
this State have been presented to nie for transmission to your Excel- 
lency, with a request that the same be communicated to the Legislature 
of South Carolina. 

In performing this duty, allow me to express my personal regard for 
the social and public virtues of the illustrious deceased, and my deep 
sense of the great loss which this dispensation of Providence has in- 
flicted upon the American Nation. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, yours, etc., 

WM. F. JOHNSTON. 



RESOLUTIONS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF PENNSYLVA- 
NIA RELATIVE TO THE DEATH OF THE HON. JOHN 
C. CALHOUN. 

Whereas, it has pleased an all-wise Providence to remove from the 
scenes of earth, one of America's most distinguished sons, whose name 
has been associated with her history during the last forty years, and 
whose distinguished talent, private virtues, and purity of character, 
have shed lustre on her name. 

And whereas, it is becoming and proper that society, whilst humbly 
bowing to the dispensations of infinite wisdom, should, in such cases, 
testify its sense of the worth and exalted character of the illustrious 
deceased, by appropriate tributes of respect to his memory, forgetting 
all points of difference, and cherishing the recollection only of his virtues. 

Be it therefore resolved unanimously by the Senate and House of 
Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in General 
Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same. 

That this General Assembly has heard with profound sensibility and 
heartfelt sorrow, of the death of the Hon. John C. Calhoun, of South 
Carolina, for whom, in his long and distinguished public career, whilst 
often differing from his views and policy, we have ever entertained the 
most profound respect ; and in whose private virtues, and personal 
character, there has been everything to win admiration, and conciliate 
affection. 



86 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

Resolved, That as a further testimony of respect for the memory of 
the deceased, au extract from the Journal of each House, to be signed 
by the Speakers, be communicated to the Grovernor, with a request that 
he forward the same to the Widow and Family of the deceased, with a 
letter of condolence, expressing the sincere sympathy of this General 
Assembly with them in this, their afflicting bereavement. 

Resolved, That the Governor be further requested to forward a copy 
of the foregoing resolutions to the Governor of South Carolina, with a 
request that he communicate the same to the Legislature of said Com- 
monwealth. 

J. S. McCALMONT, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

V. BEST, 

Speaker of the Senate. 

Approved the sixth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and 
fifty. WM. F. JOHNSTON, 



NEW YORK LEGISLATURE. 

Senate — Tuesday. — The Governor transmitted the following com- 
munication : 

State of New York, Executive Department, 
Albany, April 2, 1850. 

To the Legislature : 

We learn from the public journals, that the Hon. John C. Calhoun 
died at AVashington, on the moi'ning of Sunday last. His death is an 
event of interest, and a source of grief to all sections of the country, iu 
whose service nearly the whole of his active life has been spent, I 
believe, therefore, that I consult the public sense of propriety, not less 
than my own feelings, in giving you this official information of his 
decease. 

Mr. Calhoun became connected with the Federal Government at 
an early age, and died in its service. He has been a member of the 
House of Representatives, Seci'etary of State, Secretary of War, Senator 
iu Congress, and Vice President of the United States. 

In each of these stations he has been distinguished for ability, in- 
tegrity, and independence. He has taken a prominent part in every 
great question which has agitated the country during the last forty 



RESOLUTIONS, LETTERS, ETC. 87 

years, and has exerted a commanding influence upon the whole course 
of our public policy. 

In his death the nation has lost a statesman of consummate ability, 
and of unsullied character. It is fitting that this State should evince 
sorrow at his death, by such action as her Representatives may deem 
appropriate. 

HAMILTON FISH. 

Mr. Morgan offered the following resolution : 

That a select committee of three be appointed on the part of the 
Senate, to meet with a committee on the part of the Assembly, to report 
resolutions expressive of the sense of the Legislature, relative to the 
death of the Hon. John C. Calhoun, and that the Senate will meet 
at 4 o'clock this afternoon, to hear the report of said committee. 

The resolution was unanimously adopted. 

The Select Committee on the part of the Senate on the Calhoun 
resolutions, are Messrs. Morgan, Man, and Babcock. 

Assemhh/. 

The Governor transmitted to the House a Message announcing the 
death of Mr. Calhoun. 

The proceedings of the Senate on this subject were read, designating 
a committee on the part of the Senate, and requesting a like committee 
on the part of the House. 

Mr. Ford, after a few appropriate_remarks, moved a concurrence in 
the resolution of the Senate. 

Mr. Raymond concurred in the motion, and paid a brief tribute to 
the memory of the deceased, as a citizen and a statesman. 

Mr. Bacon followed, conceding to Mr. Calhoun great intellect and 
virtue. Messrs. Monroe and Varnum also sustained the motion. 

The resolutions were unanimously adopted, and the chair named 
Messrs. Ford, Monroe, Godard, Raymond, and Church, as the committee 
on the part of the House. Recess to 4. 

Evening Session. 

Mr. Morgan, from the Joint Select committee appointed on the 
Message of the Governor, announcing the death of the Hon. John C. 
Calhoun, offered the following resolutions, which were unanimously 
adopted : 

Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of New York have heard 
with deep regret, of the death of the Hon. John C. Calhoun, United 



88 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

States Senator from South Carolina ; that they entertain sentiments of 
profound respect for the pre-eminent ability, the unsullied character, 
and the high-minded independence which, throughout his life, distin- 
guished his devotion to the public service ; and that they unite with 
their fellow-citizens throughout the Union, in deploring his death as a 
public calamity. 

Resolved, That the Governor of this State be requested to transmit a 
copy of these resolutions to the President of the Senate of the United 
States, with a request that the same be entered on their journal ; and 
a copy to the Governor of the State of South Carolina, with a request 
that he transmit the same to the family of the deceased. 

Resolved, That as a token of respect to the memory of the deceased, 
the public offices be closed, and the flag at the Capitol be displayed at 
half mast for twenty-four hours, and that the Senate do now adjourn. 

The same resolutions were passed by the Assembly, which also ad- 
journed. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
ON THE OCCASION OF THE DEATH OF MR. CALHOUN. 

At a stated meeting of the New York Historical Society, held at its 
rooms in the New York University, on Tuesday evening, the 2nd day 
of April, 1850, the Hon. Luther Bradish, President, presiding. 

Dr. Alexander H. Stephens announced the death of the Hon. John 
C. Calhoun, in the following words : 

Mr. President : This is a time of gloom. Yesterday, over our 
public edificies, the national flag, half hoisted, drooped heavily — its 
stars obscured. A public calamity was indicated. It was the death of 
Mr. Calhoun. His home, sir, was nearly one thousand miles distant. 
Who will so far forget the Roman maxim, as to despair of the Republic 
when there is such sympathy between its remote members ? It is an 
evidence of unity, and every expression of it is a new bond of union. 

I have risen, Mr. President, to move that the death of John Cald- 
well Calhoun be entered upon your journal, with the expression of 
the profound veneration entertained by this Society for his' high char- 
acter, his unsurpassed abilities, and his pre-eminent public services. 
The name of Calhoun is historical ; it is mete that an historical society 
should mark its estimate of his character. His was a beacon light to 
a wide-spread region : lofty, pure, and brilliant. Long the guide of 
anxious patriotism, it will be seen no more forever. 



RESOLUTIONS, LETTERS, ETC. 89 

Let it be permitted even to me, sir, to mingle private grief with uni- 
versal public mourning. While yet a stripling at Yale, I hung upon 
the first lispings of his young eloquence, and marked with admiration 
the intellectual vigor of the new grown Hercules. In after life, College 
recollections were a cord of friendship between us, no strand of which 
was ever broken. We are told by his friend, Mr. Holmes, that he 
early read the Bible. Your venerable predecessor, the illustrious Gal- 
latin, was also early brought up in the study of that sacred volume, and 
lived to know its value. He declared to me, and charged me to say to 
Gen. Taylor, that he rejoiced in his election, that he occupied a position 
on which all patriots, all good men, all christian men, could rally around 
and support him. The facts I state go to show the value of the early 
study of the Bible as a means of intellectual culture. 

Gallatin, tracing his ancestry some centuries back, to a Syndic of 
Geneva, loved to speak of his maternal parentage; so too, Calhoun 
referred with pride to the Caldwell stock, to which his mother belonged. 
Who does not remember the mother of the Gracchi, and of Napoleon ? 
Sir, if we would improve our race, we should develope the moral and 
intellectual faculties of our daughters. 

The affection of Mr. Calhoun for his family, his friends, his State, 
and his section, was so warm as to become, perhaps, too exclusive. 
Distant friends so thought, and blamed him ; they did not know the 
temptations to which he yielded. 

In heart, Mr. Calhoun was a Kaphael, in mind, a Michael Angelo. 
As an orator and a Cabinet Minister, his most marked features were his 
power of condensation and of organization. In the first, he had no 
equal ; in the last, since the days of Hamilton, our country has not 
seen his superior. When he entered the War Department, where he 
passed the most useful lustrum of his life, order came out of chaos. 
The incidents of his death suggest a comparison with Chatham. They 
were alike self-reliant, fearless, incorruptible. But Calhoun sought 
only results, Chatham sometimes studied display. One looked only to 
the matter in hand, the other also to himself. In manner and diction, 
Calhoun was ever severely plain. Chatham, in style, was often 
ornate — in manner, gorgeous. Chatham's inconsistency was in senti- 
ment and action, and it was palpable. Calhoun, ever consistent in 
action, was only over refined and subtle in argument. More uniformly 
than Chatham, he prized true greatness above the ti'appings of office and 
of title. In other points of view, Calhoun was like only unto himself. 
Had he been forced to act more and thiidc less, the world would have 
seen in him a more useful, perhaps an unequalled, man. 



90 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

As a medical man, I am so presumptuous as to suggest this opinion : 
Mr. Calhoun's death (I speak not of the occasion, but the cause of it,) 
was an intellectual death. An overworked mind dwelling too long on 
its one object — on its one thought — his country. The rapid current, 
ever running in one narrow channel, deepened its bed, until the banks 
caved in, and a scene of desolation succeeded to the fair landscape. 
What a lesson to intense thinkers ! But other landscapes in the skies 
shall be formed by its waters, and they shall descend again and purify 
the air. Even so may his fall purify the political atmosphere. 

I offer the following resolution : 

Resolved, That the death of John Caldwell Calhoun be entered 
upon the journal of this Society, with the expression of the profound 
veneration entertained by it for his high character, his unsurpassed 
abilities, and his pre-eminent public services. 

The resolution, seconded by J. DePeyster Ogden, lilsq., and responded 
to by the Rev. Dr. DeWitt, was passed unanimously ; and 
The Society then adjourned. 
Extract from the minutes. 

ANDREW WARNER, Recording Secretary. 



GOVERNOR SEABROOK TO HON. R. BARNWELL RHETT. 

Executive Department, 
Charleston, April 11, 1850. 
Dear Sir : Your intimate relations with Mr. Calhoun, thorough 
knowledge of his history, and ability to discharge the honorable trust, 
have induced me to request that you will, before the Legislature, at its 
next session, on a day convenient to yourself, deliver an oration on the 
life, character and public services of the deceased. 
With sentiments of respect, 

I remain your obedient servant, 

WHITEMARSH B. SEABROOK. 
R. Barnwell Rliett, Esq. 



HON. R. B. RHETT TO GOVERNOR SEABROOK. 

The Oaks, April 18, 1850. 
Dear Sir : I received by the last mail the request of your Excellency, 
that I would deliver, before the Legislature of the State at its next sit- 



RESOLUTIONS, LETTERS, ETC. 91 

ting, au oration on the life, character and services of Mr. Calhoun. 
After the able and eloquent pens which have been and will be employed 
on this distinguished theme, I may not be able to produce anything 
novel or interesting, beyond what the theme itself will naturally occa- 
sion. But your object is to do honor on the part of the State to the 
illustrious dead. Heartily sympathizing with this object, I will co- 
operate with your Excellency to the extent of my ability, and accept 
the appointment. 

Believe me, dear sir. 

Your most humble, 

and obedient servant, 

R. B. RHETT. 
To his Excellency, Governor Seahrook. 



BARNWELL'S SERMON. 

A Caution against Human Dependence. A Sermon delivered in St. Peter's 
Church, Charleston, on Sunday, the 7th of April 1850, by Wm. II. Barnwell, 
Rector of St. Peter's ; on the occasion of the death of the Hon. John C. 
Calhoun. Published by Request. 



Isaiah, 2-22. — " Cease ye from man, whose breath is in Jiis nostrils ; for wherein is he to he ac- 
counted of?" 

The name of this Prophet, Isaiah, literally the Salvation of God, 
expresses the chief topics of his predictions — the coming of the Messiah, 
and the deliverance it was to accomplish. His disclosures of the birth, 
person, sufferings, and glory of the Redeemer, are so vivid and full, as 
to entitle him to the name of the Evangelic Seer. His vision overleaps 
time and space, and places before himself and his hearers, events to 
occur in periods and countries exceedingly remote. The general scope 
of his writings, was to rebuke the sins, not only of Judah, but of the 
ten tribes of Israel and the Gentiles ; to invite persons of every rank 
and nation to repentance, by promises of pardon and peace ; and to 
comfort the truly pious (in the midst of all the calamities and judgments 
denounced against the wicked) with prophetic assurances of the true 
Messiah, which in their distinctness seem almost to anticipate the 
Gospel History. 

The particular prophetic discourse from which the text is taken, 
includes the second, third, and fourth chapters of this Sacred writer ; 
and while the kingdom of the Messiah, and the conversion of the 
Gentiles are foreshown in the former part of it, the punishment of the 
unbelieving Jews, for their idolatrous practice, their confidence in their 
own strength, and distrust of God's protection ; the destruction of 
idolatry consequent to the coming of Christ ; the calamities of the 
Babylonian invasion and captivity; together with an amplification of 
the distress of the proud and luxurious daughters of Zion, would form 
a picture utterly appalling, but for the promises, with which it closes, 
to the remnant who shall have escaped, of a future restoration to the 
favor and protection of God. 

It is in the midst of the minatory part of these prophetic announce- 
ments, that the inspired bard, in the peculiarly parabolic style of 



Barnwell's sermon. 93 

Hebrew poetry, which under images taken from things natural, artificial, 
religious, and historical, exhibits things divine, spiritual, moral, and 
political, utters one of the most striking descriptions of the abasement 
of human pride before the majesty of Jehovah, that the mind of man 
has ever conceived and given expression to. 

^^ Enter into the Rock! and hide thee in the dust, 
For fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his Majesty. 
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, 
And the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down. 
And the Lord alone, shall be exalted in that day. 
For the day of the Lord of Hosts shall be 
Upon every one that is proud and lofty. 

And upon every one that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low ; 
And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, 
A7id upon all the oaks of Bashan, 
And upon all the high mountains, 
And upon all the hills that are lifted up. 
And upon every high tower. 
And upon every fenced wall. 
And uj)on all the ships of Tarshish, 
And upon all pleasant pictures. 
And the loftiness of man shall be boived doivn, 
And the haughtiness of man shall be made low ; 
And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. 
And the idols He shall utterly abolish. 
And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, 
And into the caves of the earth. 
For fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His Majesty, 

When He ariseth to shake terribly the earth. 
In that day, a man shall cast his idols of silver and his idols of gold, 

Which they made, each one for himself to ivorship, 
To the moles and to the bats ; 

To go into the clefts of the rocks, 

And into the tops of Ihe ragged rocks, 

For the fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His Majesty, 

When he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." 

Then, as if to intimate that God's judgment was provoked by an 
idolatrous dependence upon human means, he cautions them against 
this, in the words before us : 

" Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils ; 
For ivherein is he to be accounted of?^' 

We have here then, a solemn remonstrance against undue reliance 



94 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

upon man, based upon his mortality and insufficiency. And the use to 
be made of it is, I presume, anticipated ])y you. 

The nation seems to feel afflicted, and our commonwealth mourns 
over her departed statesman, like a mother over an only son. What- 
ever prejudices may have prevailed against him during his life, are 
apparently dispersed by the stroke of that Divine hand which has re- 
moved him from earth ; and those who, in the discharge of their public 
duties, had felt themselves constrained to differ from him most widely, 
have seemed to take a mournful satisfaction in proffering their prompt 
and decided testimony to the purity of his character, and the greatness 
of his abilities. 

You will not, of course, expect me, either to touch upon party politics, 
or to attempt anything like a eulogy of the illustrious dead. The pulpit 
is certainly not the appropriate place for political discussions ; nor is 
there any disposition on my part to interfere at present with the allotted 
province of others, by obtruding upon you my own views, either of the 
great questions which have agitated the nation, since this distinguished 
statesman entered upon public life, or of the course he has pursued in 
reference to them. 

My object is, only as your Minister, to improve to your spiritual good, 
a striking event in the Providence of God, which has probably occupied 
more of your thoughts and conversation, since last we met, than any 
other subject, unconnected with your personal concerns. 

One who is set as a watchman upon the Towers of Zion, ought not to 
be an unobservant or uninterested spectator of events which engross the 
public mind. Hoping to influence for God, as it is his province to do, 
so far as he may, the wills of his hearers ; and expecting to accomplish 
this pious end by appeals to their understandings and their hearts ; it 
is important that he should not only be familiar with the intellectual 
and emotional nature of man in general ; but that for the timely incul- 
cation of Divine Truth, he should avail himself of any insight he may 
obtain into the particular state of mind and feeling which passing- 
occurrences produce, either in his own congregation or in the com- 
munity at large. " A word spoken in due season, how good is it." 

That there is needed at present, throughout our Union, a solemn 
remonstrance against an undue reliance upon human abilities, whether 
to devise plans for the better government of mankind, or to can-y them 
into operation, can scarcely be (questioned ; and if the death of one 
whose profound political sagacity was universally acknowledged, and 
whose noble, devoted patriotism has been signally evinced for so long a 
period, shall have the eiFect of turning the confidence of the people from 



BARiN well's sermon. 95 

man, whose breath is in his nostrils, and who in his highest and best 
developments of mental power is but little to be accounted of, to God 
who liveth forever, and who only is a j)rcsen< heJj-) in every time of need ; 
the loss, which not only our native State, but the civilized world, has 
sustained in this afflictive event, will be more than compensated. 

The Jews, to whom Isaiah's warning was delivered, M^ere prone to 
rely upon their alliances with the surrounding heathen nations, the 
Egyptians, Syrians, and Assyrians, instead of confiding in their own 
covenant God ; and His jealously, which is represented in Scripture as 
one of His chief though most terrible attributes, is thus incessantly 
exasperated against them. " Tlie Egi/ptianfi," saith He, in a woe de- 
nounced against this practice, through this same Prophet, Isaiah, " The 
Egyptians, are men, and not God; and their horses Jlesh, and not spirit. 
When the Lord shall stretch out His hand, both he that hfilpeth shall fall, 
and he that is holpen shall fall down; ajtd they shall all fail together." 

It can scarcely be charged upon the people of these United States 
that they are inclined to rely upon any foreign power for aid ; or that 
they are tempted to forget God, by entanglements with the affairs of 
other nations. In this respect, the counsel of him who has justly been 
called the Father of his Country, has been in general complied with ; 
though a political philosopher who should attempt to trace our last war 
with Great Britain to its hidden springs, may perhaps discover some of 
them in the sympathies by which the two great parties that divided the 
country had become respectively attached to France and England, the 
chief belligerents of the day. 

But whether as a nation we are not withdrawn from a proper depen- 
dence upon the Almighty, by an extravagant estimate of ourselves, is a 
question which, it is to be feared, even the most overweening admirer 
of our country would be constrained to settle against us. Nor is there 
reason to hope that the jealousy of the Great Sovereign of the Universe, 
will be less provoked by an estrangement from Him, which results out 
of an undue dependence upon talent, education, attainment, experience, 
skill, popular opinion, aud our Federal and State Constitutions, than by 
those Heathenish alliances which were the great source of idolatry on 
the part of the Jews. 

Not that these things are unimportant in their place ; or are not to 
be oftentimes regarded as the grounds for devout gratitude to God. 
Who that contemplates with the most sober consideration, that innate 
force of the human mind, which inclines it spontaneously to the easy 
acquisition of knowledge, or the successful execution of practical affairs, 
but must admire its mysterious power ? And who that witnesses the 



96 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

steady but almost miraculous results of education, applying as it were a 
vegetative principle to the mental foculties, and causing them to grow, 
bud, blossom, and bear fruit, can fail to appreciate it highly, as a most 
efficient instrumentality ? Or who can reflect upon the immense power 
derived from knowledge ; putting one man in possession of the experi- 
ence of ages — or who can turn his thoughts to the vast advantages of 
experience 5 judging of men and things, not upon the vague basis of 
conjecture, but upon the certain conclusions of one who has tried them 
— or who can observe the consummate eftects of skill, marshalling and 
arranging the substances of matter, or the principles of nature, or the 
thoughts of the mind, nay, and often the purposes and actions of men 
in a wonderful manner ? Who can take such a view of these advan- 
tages, without being thankful that the Kuler of the Universe has be- 
stowed them so largely upon our fellow-countrymen ? Or who can 
notice withovit awe, the insensible, yet tremendous agency of popular 
opinion, heaving like some billow, from shore to shore ? Or who can 
examine the admirably contrived and beautifully balanced system of 
our great Federal Republic, without regarding it as a model for all men 
capable of self-government, and desiring not only its perpetuity here, 
but its extension everywhere ? Yet to one of spiritual discernment, all 
of these blessings with which we have been so highly favored by a 
beneficent Providence, may clearly appear to have become idols ; and it 
may be justly said — not only of the more worldly and sensual, but of 
the more refined and intellectual and virtuous and patriotic — 

' ' They icorship the luork of their ow7i hunds, 
That which their 02cn fingers have made." 

In the history of nations, as of individuals, there occur critical periods, 
when the most important consequences hang upon particular acts, which 
impart to the future its cast and color. That such a crisis is at hand in 
our national afiairs, seems to be the general apprehension ; and that one, 
who of all others was the best qualified in talent, education, knowledge, 
experience, skill, control over popular opinion, and familiarity with the 
principles of the Confederacy, to give direction to affairs, should be 
struck down in his sphere of high and responsible duty, just at the 
time when his services were most needed, and when, too, according to 
his own calm judgment, as expressed but the evening before his death, 
he could accomplish more good, by an hour's speech, than he had ever 
done befoi'e, seems a forcible illustration of the Prophet's warning to 
cease relying upon man, whose breath is in his nostrils. 



Barnwell's sermon. 97 

Nor is it probable that had his valuable life beeu prolonged, and 
health been restored to hiiu, he would have beeu able to produce the 
effect he desired and toiled for. It seems incidental to the very nature 
of llepublican governments, that public men of extraordinary ability and 
sterling integrity, should be viewed with jealousy, not only by those 
whose political views and interests differ from theirs, but by those who 
in the main agree with them. Hence, statesmen of the first order have 
been frequently superseded by persons far inferior, but from circum- 
stances more popular. It cannot be doubted that the deceased was 
regarded with the more jealousy out of his native State, on account of 
the unbounded influence which for so long a time he had enjoyed 
within it. By both of the political parties he was looked upon as one \ 
who would not hesitate, in any public emergency that seemed to demand ) 
it, to act an independent part. By both of the sections. North and 
South, he was regarded as standing somewhat in the way of some present] 
or prospective favorite candidate for the Chief Magistracy of the Union. 1 
So that even of him, who had made Grovernment, especially our own 
Constitutional Grovernment, his ardent and laborious study ; who had 
filled, with the most signal success and spotless purity, most of the 
highest offices of that government; who carried habitually into every 
duty that he undertook, a lofty enthusiasm, a comprehensive forecast, 
an intrepid purpose, and an indefatigable assiduity,, even of him so pro- 
found, so experienced, so honored, and so efficient, thei'e is reason to 
think that many who could not but admire him, were beginning to say 
with the Prophet, '■'■ iclierein is he to he accounted of ? " 

The reciprocal attachment between himself and his native State — one 
of the most remarkable features of his character and circumstances of 
his life — should impress with peculiar force upon her citizens the 
necessity of ceasing from man. 

True, he never forsook, never betrayed her. Never ceased to watch 
over her political welfare with a sleepless vigilance — never failed to 
warn her of even distant danger — never hesitated to front every foe that 
assailed her, and to sacrifice freely in her cause every high hope of 
personal ambition. If ever there was a statesman, who in that stern 
and hazardous, yet necessary warfare of politics, where so many of the 
greatest talents and experience have suffered themselves to be frightened 
from their steadfastness, or corrupted from their integrity, or enticed 
from their devotion — if ever there was a statesman who could claim 
from his constituents entire confidence, the voice of South Carolina, 
not sobbing as it now is over his loss, but in the firm and unaltered 
tones of more than forty years' proud and affectionate reliance, proclaims 



98 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

— this was lie. And yet see the vanity of making man our stay I His 
breath flickers from his nostrils, when most needed to make his last 
appeal in her cause ; and into that hall which had been to liim the field 
of so many intellectual battles — less bloody it is true, but not less severe 
and uallino- than those of the sword — he is brought forth like a slain, 
but unconquered hero, stretched upon his bier. 

If there be no impropriety in so applying the touching passage of 
Scripture, it seems to me our beloved commonwealth might be per- 
sonified as the Koyal Minstrel of Israel uttering that pathetic lamenta- 
tion over his best earthly friend. 

•' How are the viighl>i fallen in the midst of the battle! 

Jonathan ! thou wast slain in thine high places, 

1 am distressed for thee my brother Jonathan : 
Very jjleasant has thou been unto me. 

Thv love to me was wonderful, 

Passing the love of women, 

How are the mighty fallen. 

And the weapons of ivar perished .'" 

He does not seem to me to have studied profoundly either the nature 
of man, or the characteristics of the age, who is not ready to acknow- 
ledge the vast ascendency of energy over numbers, of mind over matter, 
of virtue over everything else ; and glancing back upon the history of 
our common country for the last forty years, and inquiring into the 
causes of that immense influence which our great Statesman exerted, 
we shall discover an illustration of these truths, so important, not only 
to the political and social, but to the moral welfare, both of the public 
and of individuals. Had he been the citizen of a large and populous 
State, whose votes in the Electoral College might have settled almost 
any Presidential question ; or had he been possessed of great wealth, 
which, with shame be it spoken, exercises but too potent a sway over 
the people ; or had he condescended to those arts of chicanery, by which 
popularity is too often obtained ; we might the less wonder at the almost 
ma<'ical power which for so long a time he wielded. But his native 
State was comparatively small and feeble — bright, it is true, in the 
waning prestige of Revolutionary glory, and in the character of many of 
her living sons ; but yet gradually losing her rank in the scale of con- 
federated constellations, as State after State emerged from the horizon 
and ascended above her. His private means were always limited ; pro- 
bably, never more than enough to sustain and educate his family. His 
lofty scorn of everything mean and debasing, kept him aloof from the 



BARNWELL'S SERMON. 99 

petty intrigues of personal and party politics. Yet what a vast place 
has he filled in the public history of his generation, and what a strong 
impulse has his genius given to the spirit of his age — that invisible, 
impalpable, but mighty influence which pervades and moulds, and in 
the end, controls aifairs. Whence was this ? Even his enemies will 
be now ready to ascribe it to his mind, his energy, his virtue. And 
when they say this, they not only place his character upon the firmest 
and loftiest human pedestal, but they render, involuntarily perhaps, a 
high homage to the Deity while they add force and emphasis to the 
Prophet's warning : " Cease ye from man, icliose breath is in hisnostriU; 
fur wherein is he to he accounted of ?" 

It would be treason to natural as well as revealed religion not to 
maintain the legitimate supremacy of intellect, will, and benevolence. 
Fame would be worthless, nay, would be pernicious, if accorded to one 
who could lay no claim to these. But God and man concur in this ; 
that without a mind to discern duty, and without a purpose to perform 
it, and above all, without a heart disinterestedly to desire its perform- 
ance, none can be fully qualified for that proper fulfilment of high 
and responsible ofiices which in all ages and nations entitles one to the 
confidence of his contemporaries and the praises of posterity. You 
need not be informed that God is the author and preserver of every 
clear and vigorous mind, of every firm and energetic will, and of every 
virtuous and benevolent emotion. The student of Scripture, and the 
mere observer of human conduct, however they differ in other things, 
probably agree in ascribing ultimately to the Deity not only many of 
the results of human actions, but much that contributes to the formation 
of individual character. Nor can any but an Atheist contemplate such 
a life as that we are noticing, without perceiving what the deceased 
himself believed in, the controlling influence of a Divine mind, and a 
particular Providence fulfilling all events, and shaping all characters 
according to an infinitely wise and good and fore-ordained plan. To 
conceive of a mind like that of the deceased, being instituted by chance ; 
or to conceive of his purposes, fraught as they have been with momen- 
tous consequences, being determined without God ; or to conceive of his 
virtuous principles being formed, and his kind emotions being exercised 
without any control whatever from Him in " whose hands arc the hearts 
of all men as streams ofioater ;" would be as contrary to the deductions 
of sound philosophy as to the teachings of Scripture. If, in any piece 
of complicated machinery, you should perceive a combination of powers 
directed with force to one end, and that end a useful one, would you 
not laugh to scorn the impertinence, whether learned or simple, which 



100 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

should attempt to convince yoU; that natural laws merely, and not mind 
— accident, and not design — curiosity, and not the desire of usefulness 
— had wrought such an instrument ? If you beheld a body of troops, 
composed of the various kinds of the service, performing with mechani- 
cal, almost noiseless precision, a great variety of military evolutions 5 
would you not smile at the childlike simplicity which would surmise 
that each weapon, and each war-horse, and each rank, and each man, 
was moved by some magical or some independent influence ; and not 
that there was one commanding mind, who had settled it all at his 
council board, and was reviewing his machinery to see how it worked '/ 
And if you saw a terrible yet grand mass of living Valor like this, glow- 
ing to evince its skill, not on mere fields of sport, but on the bloody 
arena of battle, against those who were conceived to be enemies ; should 
you see a large, well disciplined, well officered army, red hot for war, 
restrained in the desired work of destruction or invasion, and reserved 
only for purposes of peace and usefulness, you would wonder at the 
perverseness which ascribed so beneficial and humane and philanthropic 
a result, to any but a good motive on the part of him who originated 
it. The wisdom, the energy, the humanity, which would be conspicu- 
ous in one who, deeming an efficient ai'my necessary for the safety of his 
country, prepares one, and then, when it had been prepared, advocates 
peace wovild command forever the woi'ld's admiration. It will be for 
the eulogist of this departed son of South Carolina — with the blood of 
revolutionary heroes in his veins — born and living among scenes teem- 
ing with traditions of British cruelty — bred in habits of hardy indepen- 
dence, which looked only at the end, and despised intervening obstacles 
— entering upon public life at a time when the women of our country 
glowed at the insults which the haughty cross of St. George, dominant 
on every wave, inflicted upon the Eagle ; and when " Free Trade and 
Sailors Riylits" was the watch-word of our very boys — having carried 
by his immense influence, against an old and talented, and most respec- 
table party, the party of Washington himself, the party of the leading 
minds in his own native State, measures preliminary to the declaration 
of war with England — having conducted with triumphant executive 
ability, in the face of immense difficulties, the hostilities to a prosperous 
close — having re-organized the War Department with wonderful method 
and efficiency — having contributed to develope all the resources of the 
country even at the expense of the General Revenue, and at the sacrifice 
of some of his cherished political theories — having previously favoi'ed 
the acquisition of new territory — and having just completed the annexa- 
tion of Texas, through his jealousy of British interference — it will be 



Barnwell's sermon. 101 

for the eulogist of Mr. Calhoun to say liow mvich credit he ouglit to 
receive ou the score of philanthropy, when thus descended, thus trained, 
thus stimulated to war with England by all the associations of the past, 
and perhaps all the prospects of personal elevation for the future — he 
stood forth in the Senate Chamber — on the Oregon Question — and 
against his party, advocated peace. But I refer to the subject now, 
not so much to excite in your minds admiration for the dead — though 
trusting as I do, that the time will come, referred to by Isaiah in the 
very chapter before us, when 

" Men shall beat their svonh into ploughshares. 
And their spears into pruning hooks, 
When nation shall not lift up sword against nation, 
Neither shall they learn war any inore." 

I doubt not this instance of wise and strong and humane forbearance 
will beam forth among the brightest of history. I refer to it, however, 
for the purpose of awakening gratitude to God, and cautioning you not 
to rely upon man, but upon Him concerning whom the Psalmist has 
declared, " The s^iields of the earth belong unto God ; He is greatly 
exalted." To admire the character and conduct of the human instru- 
ment, who under such circumstances served to protect our country and 
Great Britain, nay, our common humanity from such a war, and yet to 
withhold admiration from that exalted Being, upon whom that instru- 
ment professedly relied, and who, unquestionably, had both prepared 
him for that crisis, and that crisis for him would be as illogical as 
irreligious. I do not say that we have any right to withhold from the 
man, the praise which is justly due to him for his foresight and firmness 
and enlarged benevolence. What, as God's minister, I claim, is, that 
the Chief Supreme Honor of making the man what he was, and enabling 
him to act as he did, be ascribed to Him — and what I entreat of you is, 
be persuaded by the very case before us, to cease from man, for wherein 
is he to he accounted of ? Lauded as the humanity of our Statesman 
was, for acting so nobly as a " shield " against war with England, and 
for attempting to prevent, and bring to a close that with Mexico, still, 
when after a life spent, not in the service of the South, but of the whole 
Union — with a frame broken down by Senatorial toils, and burnt out 
by the workings of its ardent and patriotic spirit — with a foresight 
acknowledged to be almost prophetic, he implores — with confessions of 
weakness, which coming fi'om such a source, ought to have proved 
overpowering — one section of his country to forbear from aggressions 



102 






THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 



upon the chartered Institutions of the other — Institutions among which 
many of our noblest and best men had grown up, had lived and died — 
Institutions which, he had proved to demonstration, were essential to 
the very existence of the inferior race subject to theu^., and Avithout 
which, he had conclusively shown, that the prosperity of the whole 
country, and the cause of civilization would be thrown back — when, 
with almost dying lips, nay, through the lips of another, for his own 
were too feeble for the utterance of his last weighty charge, he solemnly 
implored forbearance and the preservation of constitutional efi[uality, he 
is censured even by some of his political friends, and his enlarged 
humanity and conservative wisdom, misconstrued into self-interest and 
sectional prejudice, by the most generous of his opponents. " Cmseye 
then from man, whose hreafh h in hix noxfn'/s ; for vherrhi is he to hr 
accovntcd of ?" 

The infinite disparity which exists between the mind, will, and ex- 
cellence of man, even in his highest condition, and those of God, should 
impress upon all the admonition of the text. 

The human mind is, unquestionably, an object of great interest, and 
a source of immense power. When originally large and strong, and 
fully developed and disciplined, it sets man upon an eminence only 
little lower than the angels. It looks intuitively not only into the 
nature of things around, but into its own nature, and aspires to know 
somewhat of the nature of God. It analyses, not only material, but 
immaterial objects. It investigates, not only the laws which regulate 
matter, and ascertains and establishes the principles of natural science, 
but it searches with deep and earnest scrutiny those still more hidden 
laws which govern the political state, and forms and arranges the diffi- 
cult science of government. None of the pursuits of the human mind 
ought to be discouraged or despised. But next to Theology, the science 
of the soul, and Metaphysics, the science of the mind. Government is 
entitled to be regarded as the most noble and dignified study, whether 
we view the materials upon which it works, the mental powers it de- 
mands, or the momentous results that flow from it. While the Na- 
turalist is classifying the physical world ; informing us of the nature 
and habits and qualities of objects animate and inanimate which belong 
to our globe ; the Political Philosopher contemplates the History of 
Nations, diving down into the fundamental principles xipon which 
generations of the human race have been governed, and determining 
the conditions upon which rational and intelligent beings, having 
emerged from the savage state, have been enabled to live together in 
harmony, and prosper in political union. 



Barnwell's sermon. 108 

When a mind of high order, qualified by nature and education and 
experience for sucli a study, puts forth its powers in close application, 
it is engaged in a work that tasks it to the utmost, and the conclusions 
to which it comes must be regarded with great deference, so long as 
man continues to be the subject of Grovernment. The welfare of the 
remotest nations, that important welfare which consists in good govern- 
ment, may be affected by its labors. In the judgment of mankind, those 
minds which have toiled successfully in these pursuits, have ranked 
among the highest and noblest. Their abstractions and theories sway 
multitudes, long after they are departed. But compare with the greatest 
of these, the Divine mind, and how infinite the disparity ! Conceive, 
as far as you can, of this Mind of Minds — Original — Omniscient — One 
— enthroned in Eternity ; and planning in the counsel of the mysterious 
Trinity in Unity, the Constitution and (jrovernmeut not of all mankind 
only, but of Angels and Arch-Angels — nay, arranging with infallible 
precision how fallen men are to be redeemed, and revolted spirits to be 
controlled — how innumerable myriads of rational, free, responsible 
beings, in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth, are to be so swayed 
and directed forever, as to bring most glory to Grod, and most good to 
His elect ! 

Follow the movements of this inconceivable Mind ; see it inspiring 
the Prophets, raising up Judges, and Rulers, and Teachers of Righteous- 
ness — see it preparing those who were to build up and destroy Heathen 
Kingdoms — making use of Philosophers, Orators, Poets, and Lawgivers 
— wielding to its purposes the swords of conquerors, the enterprise of 
voyagers, the ingenuity of inventors, the genius of artists, and the policy 
of cabinets — nay, pervading, informing, and governing every other 
mind in the whole Moral Dominion ! Think of this, and say whether 
such a mind may not justly warn you to cease from all dependence upon 
created intelligences, and to trust implicitly upon its wisdom and 
counsel. 

But the measureless superiority of Grod's power over all human energy, 
should conduct us to the same conclusion. 

Not that in the conduct of human affairs, that hidden force, that 
power of will is to be despised, which, when it has an end to accom- 
plish, turns the very elements into its servants, and converts obstacles 
into the means of success. Invested with executive power, this energy 
of purpose achieves results almost supernatural. Order is educed out 
of confusion, promptness supplants delay, vigor expels inertness, pros- 
perity overspreads the gloomy face of everything, and that cheerful 
confidence, so essential to success, and which grows out of a mutual 



104 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

consciousuess of power, fills every bosom. Such is the effect which a 
strong and active will, guided by an intelligent mind, exerts almost 
instantaneously upon human affairs. 

But how can we compare this with the Almighty power and irresis- 
tible energy of God ? Unseen except in its results — Omnipresent, 
filling all snace at one and the same time — cominsr into contact with 
every being, and every object, every instant; and giving to all not only 
their motive powers, their inherent forces, but their very existence — 
entering insensibly into the very spirits of men and Angels, and impart- 
ing their impulses — riding upon the wings of the winds — sweeping 
onward in the flames of fire — breathing in the storm — 'teemiug in the 
vegetative principle — 'Working in the laws of gravitation — flashing in 
the electric fluid — operating in every way that can be conceived of — 
Avhat limit is there to the power of God ? How entire, then, should be 
our dependence upon him ! How singular to rely upon man, whose 
breath is in his nostrils, and whose energy, if not wasted by disease or 
indolence, is utterly extinguished by death ! How strange the infatua- 
tion to trust in man, and not in God, whose power is infinite, incompre- 
hensible, irresistible, universal, perpetual. 

But the Divine goodness, as compared with that of the best of men, 
renders still more impressive the warning of the text. It is not neces- 
sary to deny to many, whose souls do not seem to be spiritually renewed, 
a natural benevolence and kindness, and an enlarged philanthropy, 
which prompt them not only to fulfil the offices of affection to their 
friends and families, but to seek to promote the happiness and welfare 
of the world at large. Sacrifices of time, and thought, and ease, and 
comfort, and even of influence and personal aggrandizement, are thus 
often made for the service, not of one's self, but of others, strangers it 
may be, or enemies. The beneficent fruits of human kindness are chiefly 
to be seen and felt in the donaestic and friendly circle ; but they are not 
confined there. There is often in minds of the highest order and 
greatest energy, a strong and earnest desire to promote the happiness 
of all ; and in public measures which are suspected of being set on foot 
chiefly for personal or party purposes, there is often a broad and deep 
under-current of good feeling and wholesome benevolence, which coming 
from God, and benefiting man, ought not to be disparaged. Indeed, 
without some degree of goodness and benevolence, a character is exceed- 
ingly defective, and unworthy of confidence. Philanthropy — true, 
intelligent, considerate, warm, yet sober philanthropy — lies at the foun- 
dation of both public and private virtue. Kindness, genuine kindness, 
is the social bond of nations and communities, as well as families. Love, 



Barnwell's sermon. 105 

pure, fervent love, is the badge of Christian diseipleship. And thanks 
be to God, our earth and our country are still blessed and adorned with 
many examples of these beneficent emotions. But contrast with them 
all, not only that now are, but that have ever been, the goodness and 
loving kindness of God ! Is it necessary that I shall dwell upon these ? 
Need I do more than simply advert to them ? Are you not as familiar 
with my views and feelings on this grand and inspiring, yet melting 
theme, as with the names of your friends and children ? What has my 
ministry been among you, from the first time it began, until this day ? 
What is it now ? What is it hereafter to be, but an attempt, earnest, 
sincere, yet too often fruitless attempt, to exhibit to you the wondorful 
love of God as evinced in the gift of His Son ? What theme has been 
brought to your notice so constantly as the amazing goodness of God, 
which beams forth from the doctrine of a Crucified Eedeemer — a 
Messiah, coming to conquer not by the sword, but by suifering — a 
Prince of Peace — preserving and restoring harmony between God and 
His Moral Intelligencies — not by intrigue, not by deception, not by a 
surrender of any of the Majesty of the Godhead, or of any of the moral 
and intellectual privileges of man, but by a Mediation based upon his 
own sacrificial death, and perfect obedience — a King of Kings — reigning 
not over the mere persons and property, but over the hearts of his 
people — a Comforter of the aflilicted — teaching them not to forget their 
sorrows or drown them in dissipation and business, but to cast them upon 
him — a Friend to sinners — assuring them of forgiveness, if they repent 
and trust in Him — a Helper to the poor and needy, and despised and 
injured, pointing them to his own earthly condition, who, fhonr/h rich, 
became poor, that they through his povcrtt/ miijlit he made rich; and 
promising them, if faithful, a seat and crown at His side ou His glorious 
Throne. 

If all that, as God's minister, and your servant for Christ's sake, I 
have said to you upon the warranty of the Holy Scriptures, of the 
Divine Goodness and Love in Christ, has not satisfied you of its all- 
sufficiency as a foundation for your reliance — let me then, this day, 
entreat you, in all the emergencies and perplexities, whether political, 
ecclesiastical, social or personal, that may arise and annoy you, listen to 
the voice of God through the Prophet — " Cease ye from man, vhosr 
breath is in his itostri/s ; Jbr wherein is he to he accoimtcd of P " 

Whether as a judgment for our public and private transgressions, 
God in his Providence means to shake in our hitherto happy and united 
country the political heavens and earth, as He has done in Europe, 
and abase before His Majesty here, as he has done there, the high per- 



106 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

sonages and offices wliicli have been lifting up their heads against hiui 
— it is not for us to know. At least, let us bear in mind that in such 
distressing agitations, the Rock that we are to get into is the Rock of 
Ages, based upon the eternal counsel of Grod, and sheltering all who 
resort to it, by the covenanted Wisdom, Power, and Love of the one 
only and true God, the Holy, Blessed, and Glorious Trinity ! That the 
family of the deceased, and all in our native State, and our whole 
country, who lament his removal from earth, may be led to trust in his 
Great and Adorable Being, is my fervent prayer. 



THOllNWELL'S SERMON. 



Thoughts suited to the Present Crisis: A Sermon, on occasion of the Death of 
Hon. John C. Calhoun, preached in the Chapel of the South Carolina College, 
April 21, 1850. By James H. Tiiornwell, Professor of Sacred Literature 
and the Evidences of Christianity. (Published by the Students.) 

'•Be wise now, therefore, ye kings; be Instructed, ye judges of the Earth ; serve the Lord with 
fear and rejoice with trembling." — Psalm ii : 10-11. 

Three weeks ago this day, as the first bell was giving us the signal 
to prepare for assembling ourselves in the house of Clod, for the pur- 
pose of rendering our morning homage to the Father of all mercies, a 
spirit endeared to us by many ties was winging its flight to the eternal 
world. That bell which summoned us to prayer seems to have kept 
time with his expiring breath — and before we had gathered ourselves in 
this hall, or assumed the devout posture of worshippers, South Caro- 
lina's honored son, and one of America's distinguished statesmen, 
was numbered with the dead. On the wings of lightning the sad in- 
telligence was borne to us. The feeling of every heart was that a great 
man had fallen — and, perhaps, few were so hardened as not to acknow- 
ledge, at least for the moment, that in this death there was a message 
of Grod to the people, the councils and rulers of this land. Death, it 
is true, is no rare visitor in this world of sin — and a refined skepticism 
might suggest that, as there was nothing extraordinary in the case 
before us, of an old man, enfeebled by disease and wasted by intellec- 
tual toil, sinking beneath the burden of infirmity and care — nothing 
extraordinary in the nature or operations of the malady which brought 
him to his end, that we should undertake to make nothing of it but the 
natural operation of natural causes. Some may complacently tell us 
that a great man has sickened — a great man has died — a star has been 
struck from the firmament — and its light is lost. We may speculate 
upon the probable eff"ects of the phenomenon — as we speculate upon 
any other important event — but it is the weakness of superstition and 
credulity to find in it any immediate interposition of God. 

Fortified as this species of skepticism may be by a shallow philoso- 
phy, there is something in the time and circumstances of the death we 
have assembled to contemplate, and the position and relations of the 



108 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

distinguished victim, that will make the heart play truant to the head, 
and extort the confession of the Egyptian Magicians, that the finger of 
God is here. Behold the time ! Never in the annals of our confede- 
racy has there been a more critical period than this. Never has a 
Congress met under circumstances so full of moment and responsibility. 
Never has the Senate of these United States been called to deliberate 
on questions so solemn and eventful as those which were before it when 
our Senator received the mandate that his work was done. To my 
mind nothing less than the problem of national existence is involved in 
the issues before the councils of our country. Shall this Union, conse- 
crated by patriot blood — founded on principles of political wisdom 
which the world has wondered at and admired — and which has con- 
ducted us to a pitch of elevation and of influence, which have made us 
a study among the philosophers of Europe, shall this ITnion — which in 
all our past history has been our glory and defence, be broken up — and 
the confederated States of this republic left to float upon the wide sea 
of political agitation and disorder ? The magnitude of this catastrophe 
depends not at all upon t^e shock which it would give to our most 
cherished sentiments — upon breaking up the continuity of our national 
recollections and interrupting the current of patriotic emotion — though 
this deserves to be seriously considered. But there are deeper, more 
awful consequences involved. To suppose that this confederacy can be 
dissolved without cruel, bloody, ferocious war, terminating in a hatred 
more intense than any which ever yet disgraced the annals of any 
people — is to set at defiance all the lessons of history ; and to suppose 
that in the present state of the world — when the bottomless pit seems 
to have been opened, anc" every pestilential vapour tainting the atmos- 
phere — when a false philosophy has impregnated the whole mass of the 
people abroad with absurd and extravagant notions of the very nature 
and organization of society and the true ends of government — to sup- 
pose that amid this chaos of opinion, which has cursed the recent 
revolutions of Europe — we could enter upon the experiment of framing 
new constitutions without danger, is to arrogate a wisdom to ourselves 
to which the progress of events, in some sections of the land, shows we 
are not entitled. I cannot disguise the conviction that the dissolution 
of this Union — as a political question — is the naost momentous whicli 
can be proposed in the present condition of the world. Consider the 
position and influence of these United States. To say that this vast 
republic is, under God, the arbiter of the destinies of this whole conti- 
nent, that it is for us to shape the character of all America — that our 
laws — our institutions — our manners, must tell upon the degenerate 



thornm^ell's sermon. 109 

nations of the South, and sooner or later absorb the hardier sons of the 
North, is to take too contracted a view of the subject. AVith the 
Pacific on the one side and the Atlantic on the other — we seem to hold 
the nations in our hands. With one arm on Europe and the other on 
Asia, it is for us to determine the political condition of the race for 
ages yet to come. Our geographical position, in connection with the 
inventions of modern science and the improvements of modern enter- 
prize, makes us the very heart of the world. Our life must be pro- 
pelled by the oceans which engirdle our shores through every country 
on the globe — the beating of our pulse must be felt in every nation of 
the earth. We stand, indeed, in reference to free institutions and the 
progress of civilization, in the momentous capacity of the federal repre- 
sentatives of the human race. 

But the accomplishment of the lofty destiny to which our position 
evidently calls us, depends upon union as well as progression. Our 
glory has departed — the spell is broken — whenever we become divided 
among ourselves. Ichabod may then be written upon our walls, and 
the clock of the world will be put back for generations and centuries. 
What a question, therefore, is that — whether we shall go forward in 
that career on which we have so auspiciously entered, and accomplish 
the destiny to which the providence of God seems conspicuously to 
have called us — or suffer the hopes of humanity to be crushed, and 
freedom to be buried in eternal night. It is not extravagant to fancy 
that we can see the unborn millions of our own descendants uniting 
with countless multitudes of the friends of liberty in all climes, in 
fervent supplications to the American Congress for the salvation of the 
x\merican Union. The liberty of the world is at stake. The American 
Congress is now deliberating upon the civil destinies of mankind. 

But the interests of freedom are not the only ones involved. The 
interests of religion are deeply at stake. To Britain and America, 
Protestant Christianity looks for her surest friends, and her most zealous 
and persevering propagators. With the dissolution of this Union, all 
our schemes of Christian benevolence and duty — our efforts to convert 
the world— to spread the knowledge of Christianity among all people, 
and to translate the Bible into all lang-uages, must be suddenly and vio- 
lently interrupted. It would be the extinction of that light which is 
beginning to dawn upon the millions of China— the total eclipse of that 
star of hope which is beginning to rise upon the isles of the sea. The 
consequences, civil, political, religious, which would result, not simply 
to us, but to mankind, from the destruction of this glorious confederacy, 
cannot be contemplated without horror — and make the present, beyond 



110 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

all controversy, the most important and solemn crisis that has ever been 
presented in the history of our country. Such was the time. Behold 
now the man! He was precisely the individual to whom in such a crisis 
his own State would have most cheerfully confided her destiny. With 
an understanding distinguished for perspicacity — -a firmness equal to 
any emergency — a perseverance absolutely indomitable — with a masterly 
intellect and a true and faithful heart, the South looked to him for 
defence, for protection, for guidance. He is permitted to mingle in the 
councils of the nation — utter his voice with one foot in the grave — and 
then he is withdrawn forever — withdrawn, too, when he feels his head 
clearer and his prospect of usefulness brighter than it had ever been 
before. Why at this time is his voice stilled in death ? Why was he 
not permitted to utter those last words which lay upon his heart ? Why, 
when the highest of all sublunary interests was at stake, was one of our 
purest and brightest statesmen refused permission to continue in the 
conflict ? Surely this was the finger of God. It was no casualty — it 
was no accident of fortune — it was no decree of destiny — it was the 
act of the Almighty. 

No temper is more constantly commended in the Scriptures thau 
devout contemplation of the events of Providence. The atheism 
which disregards the works is as severely condemned as the stupidity 
which despises the word of Grod. They are said to be wise, who ob- 
serve and ponder the operation of His hands — who mark His goings 
forth and contemplate His paths as the gi*eat Moral Kuler of the universe. 
They are wise who perceive in Providence its wonderful analogies to 
grace — who feel that the plans and purposes and principles of the 
Divine government are stamped to some extent upon all the Divine 
proceedings — that the moral, natural and physical, all harmonize with 
the spiritual and eternal, and that the events which are constantly 
taking place ai'ound them, give emphasis and illustration to the truths 
of revelation. Beside what may be styled the natural history of the 
universe, its stability and order, its uniformity and proportion, beside 
the operation of general laws and the connections and dependencies of 
a systematic whole, there is a secret lore which the good man gathers 
from the phenomena of nature — a recognition of (xod in His moral 
character, dealing with His moral and responsible ci'eatures. Death, 
as a uatui'al event, is one thing — as a moral phenomenon another. In 
the one aspect we may speculate upon its causes, its symptoms, its 
eff"ects. We may discuss fevers and coughs and agues — talk about the 
vital organs, and make a consistent theory of physiology. But the 
whole train of natural events which physiology discusses and which 



I 



thornwell's sermon. Ill 

terminates in the dissolution of the frame, must be viewed in subordi- 
nation to the moral government of God, in order to be properly under- 
stood and duly appreciated. It is in this aspect that the contemplation 
of Providence becomes a matter of religious wisdom, and yields lessons 
for the improvement of the heart as well as the instruction of the head. 
To deny the agency of God, because events are brought about in a 
natural order, which is to make the uniformity of nature a plea for 
atheism, is a stupidity as absurd as it is deplorably common. Who, we 
may ask, established this natural order? Who keeps it in continuance ? 
Who brings into being each successive link in the chain of sequences? 
And who has arranged the whole series so that every thing occurs at 
the appointed time and in the proper place ? 

But while philosophy and religion conspire in teaching that the hand 
of God must be devoutly recognized in all the operations of Providence, 
the investigation of final causes is circumscribed within narrow limits. 
We can only study them in relation to ourselves. To scrutinize the 
purposes which God means certainly to accomplish, and explore the 
ultimate reasons of His visitations to the children of men— to say pre- 
cisely what was the design of the Almighty in such and such a pro- 
ceeding, were beyond the limits of mortal penetration. He worketh 
all things according to the counsel of His own will. The hidden 
springs which move that will— the ends which God actually intends to 
achieve, we are not competent to discover. But the relations of these 

events to us — their tendencies and adaptations are obvious and patent 

and these tendencies are so many expressions of the Divine pleasure 

so many intimations of what God would have us to do or forbear. His 
Providence often carries lessons on its face which it is criminal stupid- 
ity not to perceive, and criminal insensibility not to feel. His visita- 
tions are often messages to men, as palpable and clear as if the heavens 
were opened and an angel commissioned to speak from the skies. 

That there are events brought about in the regular operation of 
secondary causes, which from their importance and their juncture, have 
all the eifect of a miracle, in rousing attention and extorting the con- 
fession of the presence of God, requires only to be stated in order to be 
owned. Though no encroachments upon the established order of sub- 
lunary things, they are invasio7is upon the dull uniformity of thought — 
they disturb the tranquillity which sees nothing in the world but a suc;- 
cession of antecedents and consequents, which appear and disappear, 
exciting no other feeling than that they are a matter of course— they 
break the slumbers of a practical Atheism and provoke the acknowledge- 
ment that there is a God in the heavens — who has done whatsoever He 



112 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

pleased — that tlicre are watchers and a Holy one who rule in the kinji- 
doiu of heaven and distribute dynasties and thrones with sovereign 
authority. There are events in which the natural is lost in something 
which is felt not to be a matter of course — we pause before them — we 
spontaneously give heed to them ^s having a special significance — we 
interrogate them as strange and unexpected visitors — and through them, 
if we are wise, we shall learn lessons that it was worthy of a miracle to 
teach. Precisely of this character is the event which has hung our own 
Commonwealth in mourning — has struck the nation with awe — has 
roused the attention of all classes in the community, and has elicited 
public expressions of sorrow and lamentation from societies, clubs, 
schools, colleges, districts, towns, cities and legislative assemblies. This 
spontaneous expression of grief — every where — from all parties — from 
every portion of the land — from the pulpit and the press — the intense 
interest the death of our illustrious Senator has excited — place it be- 
yond all question in the category of those events in which God solemnly 
announces His own sovereignty and communicates a message to the 
children of men as if by a legate from the skies. 

Upon occasions of this sort, it has been justly remarked by one, who 
of all others knew best how to improve them, '' the greatest difficulty a 
speaker has to surmount is already obviated — attention is awake — an 
interest is excited, and all that remains is to lead the mind, already suf- 
ficiently susceptible, to objects of permanent utility — he originates 
nothing — it is not so much he that speaks as the events which speak for 
themselves — he only presumes to interpret the language and to guide 
the confused emotions of a sorrowful and swollen heart into the chan- 
nels of piety." 

It is not the office of the pvilpit, however, to praise the dead or flatter 
the living. As it surveys departed greatness with a different eye from 
the eye of sense, it can bring no offerings to the altar of human glory, 
nor erect a monument to the achievements of human genius. The 
preacher, in common with other men, may drop a tear at the urn of the 
patriot, and dwell with delight upon those rare gifts which the Supreme 
Disposer of all things has conferred upon a mighty statesman. He, too, 
is a man and a citizen — and in these relations he may feel and weep as 
others weep at the extinction of a great light. But as the ancient 
prophets were required, in the proclamation of their messages, to sup- 
press the voice of nature and to speak with a dignity and majesty be- 
fitting the oracles of Grod, so the pulpit must stand aloof from the lan- 
guage of panegyric, know neither friendship nor hatred, and seek to 
extract from the dispensations of Providence only those l6ssous of the 



thornwell's sermon. llo 

Divine word, they are suited to illustrate and enforce. As we bury our 
dead this day, and as men, patriots and citizens, mourn that the delight^ 
of our eyes and pride of our hearts has been removed from us at a stroke, 
let us recognize the hand of the Almighty and inquire, with solemnity 
and reverence, what the instructions are which the judge of all truth is 
imparting to the country by this dark visitation. A Senator has fallen — 
a statesman has perished — a man lias died. In these aspects, the 
mournful occurrence may be regarded as the voice of God, teaching a 
litting lesson to the councils, rulers and people of the land. 

I. A Senator has fallen ! There is a message here to those who arc 
entrusted with the cares of government and the business of legislation- 
The introduction of death, in a form so awful and astounding, into the 
Senate of the United States, was a proclamation from heaven to all 
who are called to deliberate upon the affairs of the country, that their 
ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and that He pondereth all their 
goings. Whatever may be the cause, it is impossible to contemplate 
death in our own species as a merely natural event. We may endeavor 
by a shallow philosophy to pei'suade ourselves that it was the original 
lot of our race — that we were designed, like the beasts that perish, to 
appear and disappear in succession — to fret and strut our hour upon the 
stage, and then be seen no more — tliat like drink and food and sleep, it 
constitutes an element of our destined course — and is no more remark- 
able than any other phenomenon of our being. But no philosophy can 
impress these sentiments upon the heart — our moral nature rises in 
rebellion against them, and the instinctive feeling of mankind is that it 
is a dread and awful thing to die. Having sprung, as we are informed 
by the sure word of prophecy, from a moral cause — being a judicial. vis- 
itation of Grod — how natural soever the instruments may be by which it 
is brought about — the fixed associations of the mind connect it Avith 
moral retribution — and every conscience responds to the declaration of 
the apostle — that it is appointed unto men once to die — and after death 
the judgment. You cannot behold a corpse — you cannot stand by a 
grave — without feeling that though the body is there, the soul is gone 
to receive its final award. The very language in which the event is 
familiarly described, indicates the instinctive belief that the man is still 
in being in all the mystery of his identity — and that he has taken a 
journey to a world from which he is to depart no more. We say that 
he is gone — gone to his final home — to his fixed and everlasting abode. 
His being is not extinguished. He has laid aside the habiliments of 
mortality — the robes and decorations of a sublunary state — to stand in 
the nakedness of his moral nature before the bar of God. The man — 
8 



114 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

what was simply the man — that upon which the law pressed — the in- 
tellectual life — 'is unclothed, that naked, as it came to run its career of 
probation, naked it may return to give an account of the deeds done in 
the body. Hence the awful solemnity of death — it is the precurser of 
judgment. God's minister to summon God's creatures to God's tre- 
mendous bar. It is accordingly a great thing to die. The keys of 
deatli and hell are in the hands of Him who sitteth upon the throne — 
and it is a solemn act of mediatorial government to open the doors of 
the invisible world and consign a deathless spirit to its destined position. 
We say that such and such an one is dead. The very sound is ominous 
and its portentous meaning has been fearfully portrayed — "an immortal 
spirit has finished its earthly career — has passed the barriers of the in- 
visible world — to appear before its maker, in order to receive that sen- 
tence which will fix its irrecoverable doom, according to the deeds done 
in the body. An event has taken place which has no parallel in the 
revolutions of time, the consequences of which have not room to expand 
themselves within a narrower sphere than an endless duration. An 
event has occurred the issues of which must ever bafile and elude all 
finite comprehensions, by concealing themselves in the depths of that 
abyss, that eternity, which is the dwelling place of Deity, where there 
is sufiicient space for the destiny of "each, among the innumerable mil- 
lions of the human race, to develope itself, and without interference or 
confusion, to sustain and carryforward its separate infinity of interest." 
This is true of the departure of the meanest individual to the world of 
spirits. But the familiarity of the scene and the small degree of interest 
which attaches to the humble and obscure — the narrow circle within 
which that dissolution is mourned as a calamity, or deplored as a loss, 
prevents the impressions which death as a judicial visitation is suited to 
'make upon the mind from exerting their full and appropriate eff"ect. 
"In the private departments of life, the distressing incidents which 
occur are confined to a narrow circle. The hope of an individual is 
crushed — the happiness of a family is destroyed — but the social system 
is unimpaired and its movements experience no impediment and sustain 
no sensible injury. The arrow passes through the air which soon closes 
over it and all is tranquil. But when the great lights and ornaments of 
the world, placed aloft to conduct its inferior movements, are extin- 
guished, such an event resembles the Apocalyptic vial, poured into that 
element which changes its whole temperature and is the presage of 
fearful commotions — of thunders, lightnings and tempests." Such an 
event reveals the presence of God — and summons imagination and 
thought to the contemplation of those august realities which await the 



thornwell's sermon. ■ 115 

revelation of the last hour. Such an event brings eternity before us 
with all its dread and tremendous retributions and presses upon the soul 
the burden of an awful and oppressive responsibility. It makes us feel 
the magnitude of our being — and the stoutest heart is roused for a mo- 
ment and startled at the summons — prepare to meet thy Grod. 

The lesson of responsibility, of course, tells with more direct and 
powerful eft'ect upon those who are intimately associated in pursuit — 
friendship — or profession with the victim of the destroyer. He being 
dead speaks pre-eminently to them. Through his grave they are invited 
to contemplate eternity, and his departed spirit reminds them of the 
hour in which they too shall be called to lay aside the vestments of 
mortality. It tells them to do their work as in the eye of God — to 
think and act and deliberate and feel, in full view of the account which 
they must render at last. It tells them that a moral character attaches 
alike to their persons and their deeds — and that the comj^lexion of their 
destiny depends upon the spirit in which they discharge the duties of 
their station. When consigning a body to the tomb, or witnessing the 
last gasp of a dying friend- — we seem to stand upon the very borders of 
the unseen world — to be walking on the shore of that boundless ocean — 
in which all the streams of time are swallowed up — we almost hear the 
thunder of its billows — and feel tlie heavings of its vaves — and a sense 
of immortality nishes upon the soul which at once oppresses and ex- 
pands. We feel like rising and shaking ourselves from the dust — and 
the resolution is involuntarily adopted — though in the vast majority of 
cases too speedily forgotton — to do with our might whatsoever our 
hands find to do — since the night cometh when no man can work. 

No lesson could be more seasonable, in the present crisis of our 
national affairs, than the responsibility of rulere and legislators to GojJ 
the judge of all. That this doctrine is inadequately apprehended, the 
history of legislation in this and every other country is a mournful 
proof. There are two errors — widely prevalent — which have a direct 
and necessaiy tendency to despoil it of its fvdl and just proportions — 
one is, that national responsibility is limited in its operation and 
effects to the dispensations of Providence in the present world — and 
the other is, that where there exists not, as there should exist no where, 
a national establishment of religion, the distinctive sanctions of religion 
cannot be introduced. The effect of both errors is the same in relation 
to the retributions of a future world. And although one appears to be 
widely removed from the other, in that it acknowledges the fact of na- 
tional responsibility, yet its mistake in limiting the Divine visitations to 
our present and sublunary state, divests the doctrine of all its awful 



116 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

and commandiug majesty. It invests the iVlmighty, as the ruler of 
nations, with limited power and with temporary judgments — it places 
at His disposal the plague, pestilence and famine — war, earthquakes 
and tornadoes — ^but it robs Him of that thunder which holds individuals 
in check — -of that vengeance which makes the future so terrible to the 
workers of iniquity. He may ride upon the whirlwind and direct the 
storm — he may grind the nations as the small dust of the balance — he 
may extinguish their lights — throw them back into barbarism — but for 
their national sins he cannot visit them in the world of spirits. 

As the ordinary course of affairs affords but slight indications of any 
marked visitation for national iniquities — as communities seem to be 
dealt with upon very much the same principle as private individuals — 
one event happening alike to all, this defective theory of national re- 
sponsibility amounts in practice to a total destruction of any effective 
sense of responsibility at all. Seed time and harvest — commerce and 
trade — the various elements of national prosperity, seem to be so largely 
within the compass of human calculation and foresight, that where ap- 
pearances, according to the established connections of antecedents and 
consequents, promise Avell for the future, these anticipations will be 
adopted as the real guide of conduct rather than any apprehensions of 
sudden and violent interpositions of Divine justice. Men judge of the 
future by the indications of the present, or the experience of the past — 
and if they have nothing to deter them from evil but the prospect of 
immediate calamity, they will seldom find reason to be alarmed. The 
consequence upon statesmen and legislators is very much the same with 
the natural effects of the doctrine of universal salvation upon other in- 
dividuals. The conclusion which they cannot but draw from the facts 
of Providence would be as unfavorable to moral distinctions and the 
rectitude of the Divine administration as if they reasoned from the 
fortunes of individuals. They could not but believe, either that God 
was indifferent to the moral conduct of organized communities — or that 
if He punished, it was so seldom — so irregularly, and except in rare and 
extraordinary cases, so imperceptibly, that no serious estimate should be 
made of His pleasure or displeasure in settling any great question of 
national policy. The final result would be a practical atheism which 
would completely exclude Him from the councils of the country. 

The other error conducts to this result directly and immediately. It 
maintains that as a nation, in its organic capacity, cannot make a pro- 
fession of religion — cannot worship Grod nor believe the Grospel of His 
grace — therefore it is exempt from His control, and bound to have no 
special respect to His laws. This doctrine confounds the national obli- 



tiiornavell's sermon. 117 

gations of religion with the existence of a national churcli. And as 
the establishment of any sect, or any jjarticular species of religion, is 
an encroachment upon the rights of conscience, it is concluded that all 
religion must be excluded from halls of legislation, courts of judicature 
or seats of power. The impression prevails, to a melancholy extent, 
that the administration of the country is an aflfair in which God has no 
interest, and should, by no means, be consulted, and in conformity with 
this impression many look for it as a matter of course that all the mea- 
sures of the State shall be independent of any relations to religion. 
There are those who would exclude it from public institutions of learn- 
ing — from the army, the navy, — as well as from the halls of Congress. 
In both errors the fallacy is committed of overlooking one of the 
most obvious and fundamental principles of moral philosophy. All 
responsibility, in the last analysis, is personal and individual. The re- 
sponsibility of a nation is not the responsibility of an organic whole 
considered as such, but of all the individuals who collectively compose 
it. The State is a compendious expression for certain relations in 
which moral and responsible persons exist towards each other — the 
duties of the State are all the duties of individuals — the crimes of the 
State are the crimes of individuals — the sins of the State are the sins 
of individuals, and the prosperity and the glory of the State are the 
prosperity and glory of individuals. The State is nothing apart from 
the men who constitute it. They exist in society, with recipi'ocal rights 
and obligations, and the company of individuals so existing is the State. 
To protect and defend these rights — to maintain the supremacy of jus- 
tice — to give each individual the scope for the development, without 
interference or collision, of his separate and distinct personality, with a 
similar privilege to others, is the primary end of government — which 
must still be conducted by individuals and carries along with it only 
individual responsibility. In all the relations, in all the employments, 
in all the departments of the State, every one who is called to act is 
still onlv a man — and he brings to his labors all the measures of re- 
sponsibility which appertains to his capacities and knowledge considered 
simply as a man. He is every where — in every office — in every trust, 
an immortal being, under the law of God — and the sanctions of that 
law extend as clearly and completely to his political conduct as to any 
other actions of his life. That law knows no manner of distinction 
betwixt the statesman and the man — the statesman is only the man, in 
new relations, involving new applications of the eternal principles of 
right. An honest man and a corrupt politician are a contradiction in 
terms. 



lis THE CAROLINA TRIBLTE TO CALHOUN. 

It is hence obvious how the obligations and sanctions of religion 
press upon communities and nations. A State is bound to be religious, 
in the sense that every man in it is bound to fear God and to work 
righteousness. A State is bound to reverence the Gospel, in the sense 
that all its members are obliged, on pain of the second death, to believe 
in the Lord Jesus Christ — and a State is required to glorify God, in 
the sense that all its citizens — whether in private stations or posts of 
dignity and trust — are required, in whatever they do, to seek the glory 
of His great name. When a legislature passes a law, it is done by the 
votes of individuah — and these individuals are all responsible as such, 
for the votes that they give. If any man has lent his sanction, in his 
public and ofl&cial relations, to aught that transgresses the law of God, 
or slights the institutions of the Gospel, it is sin upon his soul to be 
visited and punished as any other wickedness of his life. God treats 
him as an individual, in such and such relations, with such and such 
duties growing out of them. 

His responsibilities, therefore, as a ruler — a legislator — a judge, are 
precisely of the same fundamental nature — have precisely the same 
fundamental character — svith his responsibilities in the private walks of 
life. He is summoned as a man to God's bar — and the scratiny is 
made into all that the man has done, in the various relations which he 
has been called to sustain — and he is just as liable to be sent to hell for 
a corrupt vote — a political intrigue — or a political fraud, as for lymg, 
■Eypocrisy or treachery in the private walks of life. The law of God as 
completely bound him in one position as in another — and, in every 
position, a man should recognize himself as God's subject who must 
o-ive an account at God's bar of all that he has done in all the relations 
in which God's Providence has placed him. This is the doctrine of 
the Scriptures as well as the plain dictate of unsophisticated reason. 

The mandate of the text is given to kings and judges, as individuals, 
or men occupying high posts of power or renown. "Be wise now 
therefore ye kings, be instructed ye judges of the earth — serve the 
Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling — kiss the Son lest He be 
angry and ye perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a 
little." 

If this doctrine could be impressed upon our public men and upon 
the heart of the nation, it would soon give us, in our national councils, 
what the present crisis so eminently demands — statesmen instead of 
jobbers and politicians. There is not and cannot be a more painful 
spectacle, than to see the interests of a great people tossed to and fro 
bv the schemes and intrigues and chicane of men, who have neither 



thornwell's sermon, 119 

the fear of God before their eyes nor the love of their country in their 
hearts. We cannot but dread some impending calamity when we see 
the honor and prosperity and glory of a nation made the sport ''of the 
party tactics and the little selfish schemes of little men, who by the 
visitation of God, happen to have some control over a great subject and 
some influence in a great commonwealth." It is a lamentation and 
shall be for a lamentation — that the most momentous interests, requir- 
ing for their adjustment amplitude of mind, integrity of puq^ose — 
simplicity of aim — broad and general considerations of truth and 
justice — should so often be the sacrifice of dwarfish politicians — who 
are unable to extend their vision beyond the domain of self — or the 
almost equally narrow circle of section, party, or clique — that in affairs 
which call for the counsels of MEN — of men who are, in some degree, 
sensible of what it is to be a man — who have God's smile or frown 
before them — that, in such aftairs, we should be dependent on the 
guidance of pigmies — yea, of worse than pigmies — of beings who 
profess to be immortal — to be working out a destiny for eternity, and 
yet who can rise to no loftier ends than the flesh pots of Egypt. A 
statesman is a sublime character — a jobbing politician too little for 
contempt. 

Aristotle, in designating the points of correspondence between a 
pure democracy and a despotism — the ethical characters of which he 
makes the same — has noted the affinity between the parasite of a court 
and a popular demagogue. "They are not unfrequently" — says he — 
"the same identical men — and always bear a close analogy." The dis- 
tinguishing characteristic of each is an utter destitution of elevated 
principle, arising from the absence of any just sense of moral respon- 
sibility. The schemes of each are only contrivances for personal ag- 
grandizement. The most momentous interests of the nation are viewed 
as the occasions or instruments of private or party ends. Every thing 
proceeds from selfish and sordid calculation, while the supremacy of 
right and the authoritative voice of duty, the highest policy of a true 
statesman, are little reverenced by these pests of the Commonwealth 
The parasite of a court is designated in Greek by a term which con- 
denses the very essence of the meanness contained in flattery, hypocrisy ! 
and fawning. The cure of such eruptions upon the surface of political 
society is a pervading sense of personal responsibility. Impregnated 
with this sentiment — none would assume duties which they were iucom-; 
potent to discharge — because none would be willing to jeopard the 
interests of salvation for the brief importance of an hour. Who would 
wear a crown steeped in poison or occupy a throne with a drawn sword 



120 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

above his head ? The solemnities of eternity would be made to protect 
the interests of time. 

For the purpose of teaching this lesson — the lesson of personal re- 
sponsibility for the manner and spirit in which they have discharged 
the duties of their trust, the event which we this day contemplate, may 
have been permitted to take place. The bar of God, the tribunal of 
eternal justice, was reared in the halls of legislation. A signal ex- 
ample was given of one who, in the midst of his duties, was called to 
his final account. Each survivor was reminded of what soon would be 
true of hiui. The scene was touching and solemn beyond description, 
when the dead body of our departed Senator, in the scene of his 
greatest glory, was made a monitor of Cod, eternity and retribution to 
those who were deliberating upon the greatest question that has ever 
arisen in the history of any people. From the tomb he seemed to 
say — remember. Senators, that you must give an account of your 
stewardship. The eyes of God are on you — '■'■ raise your conceptions to 
the magnitude and importance of the duties that devolve upon you," — 
'Met your comprehension be as broad as the country for which you act — 
your aspirations as high as its certain destiny" — deliberate, vote — 
decide — as if the next moment you were to be with me in the world of 
spirits — at the bar of God — in a changeless state. Remember that you 
occupy a sublime position — a spectacle to the Deity, to angels and to 
men. The civil destinies of the world hang on your decision. Rise to 
the dignity and grandeur of yoiir calling as immortal beings, and 
instead of seeking to conciliate a section — to promote a party — or to 
aggrandize yourselves — instead of contracting your views to the idle 
and ephemeral applauses of earth, aim at the approbation of angels, and 
of God. This was the language in which he, being dead, yet spoke to 
his companions and brethren in the Senate — and his voice we trust has 
not been wholly unheard. The noble eulogy of Webster — the touching 
tribute of Clay — the tone imparted to the Senate, lead to the hope that, 
notwithstanding recent and flagrant outrages, there exists in that august 
assembly a sense of responsibility, which wisely directed may, under 
God, prove the salvation of the country. But whether regarded or 
disregarded, it is the office of the pulpit to proclaim to our rulers that 
God will bring them into judgment for their public and official conduct — 
that however they may overlook every thing but the success of their 
selfish schemes or the commendation of their persons, God demands of 
them a supreme regard for justice, truth and religion — it is the office 
of the preacher to tell them, that if they say or do aught contrary to 
the principles of eternal rectitude, they say or do it at the peril of their 



thornwell's sermon. 121 

souls — and to remind them from tlie memorable example of Herod that, 
though an infatuated mob may shout in its blindness, it is the voice of 
God and not of man — the judgments of heaven may consign their 
souls to the lowest hell. 

Lightly and carelessly as it is sought, the office of a legislator is a 
solemn trust. It is wicked to aspire to it without being prepared for 
its duties — and when it is bought or secured by the corruption of the 
people, it is the wages of inicjuity which God will surely turn into a 
curse. How can that man entertain any adequate conviction of his 
responsibility to God, in discharging the functions of a place into 
which he was introduced by an open contempt of the Deity ? I confess 
frankly, that I tremble for my country when I contemplate the deplora- 
ble extent to which politics are turned into a trade — when I see the 
shocking separation in the national mind betwixt the candidate and the 
man — ^the politician and the citizen. To counteract this tendency, to 
impress upon all, the individual and personal nature of responsibility — 
to inculcate the supremacy of right every where, in all relations, is an 
end worthy of the extinction of the brightest lights of the land. To 
make us feel the all-pervading authority of the moi-al law and of the 
Christian faith — to bring us to the recognition of the truth, that in all 
the diversified scenes to which the Providence of God allots the chil- 
dren of men — they are still to be regarded as Christians and as men — 
developing the character and manifesting the principles upon which 
their eternal destiny depends, is a consummation cheaply purchased by 
events, which in the figured language of the Scriptures, are compared 
to the eclipse of suns — the destruction of the stars and the convolution 
of the heavens. And if the death of our illustrious Senator shall con- 
tribute to inspire the breasts of our Senators and Representatives with 
the sentiments which befit their station, it will be his lotto have served 
his country as gloriously in death as in life. 

II. The lesson which this event, considered as the death of a states- 
man, is suited to impart, is addressed to the people at large, and comes 
with pointed emphasis, in the present crisis of affairs, to the people of 
the South, and particularly to us in South Carolina. It is better tu 
trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man — it is better to trust in 
the Lord than to put confidence in princes. In Clod is my salvation 
and glory — the I'ock of my strength and my refuge is in God — trust in 
Him, at all times, ye people, pour out your heart before Him — God is a 
refuge for us — surely men of low degree are vanity and men of high 
degree are a lie — to be laid in the balance they are altogether lighter 
than vanity. Thus saith the Lord — " cursed be the man that trusteth in 



122 THE CAROLINA TIII15UTE TO CALHOUN. 

man and niaketh flesh his arm — whose heax't departeth fi'om the Lord. 
For he shall be like the heath in the desert and shall not see when good 
cometh." Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take 
counsel, but not of me — that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, 
that they may add sin to sin — that walk to go down into Egypt, and 
have not asked at my mouth, to strengthen themselves in the strength 
of Pharaoh and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. 

The lesson which the Providence of Orod was continually inculcating 
upon the heathen nations, whose afi'airs are incidentally mentioned in 
the Scriptures, is that the Most High ruletli in the kingdoms of men — 
and accomplishes His pleasure among the armies of heaven and the in- 
habitants of earth. The dominion of Jesus Christ, as Mediator, extends 
to nations as well as individuals — States and governments are the instru- 
ments of God, ordained in their respective departments, to execute His 
schemes — and the Divine Redeemer bears written upon his vesture and 
thigh a name which indicates univei'sal sovereignty — Lord of Lords and 
King of Kings. They are a part of that series of Providential arrange- 
ments by which the moral purposes of Grod, in reference to the race, 
are conducted to their issue — and as much the appointments of His will 
as the family, or the Chui'ch. There is not the same direct interposi- 
tion in the organizatien of civil and political communities as in the con- 
stitution of the Church — but the necessity of the State is founded in 
the nature of man — springs from the moral relations of individuals — 
grows with the growth and strengthens with the strength of human 
society. It is the spontaneous offspring of a social state — and in the 
same sense the creature of God, that the society from which it springs 
and from which it cannot be severed is the Divine ordination. There 
never was an absurder, and I may add, a more mischievous fiction, than 
that political communities are conventional arrangements, suggested by 
the inconveniences of a natural state of personal independence, and de- 
riving their authority from the free consent of those who are embraced 
in them. Political societies are not artificial combinations to which; 
men have been impelled by chance or choice, but the ordinance of God, 
through the growth and propagation of the species, for the perfection 
and education of the race. The first State, according to the Scriptures, 
was not distinct from the family. But as households were multiplied, 
though the tie of consanguinity was still the ground upon which 
authority was recognized, and natural affection and habitual association 
combined to invest the patriarch with the highest jurisdiction, a class of 
ideas began to expand themselves which rested upon other principles 
than those of blood. IVIoral relations — more extensive and commanding 



thornwell's sermon. 12;> 

than that of father, husband, wife or child, the relations of man to 
man — of reciprocal rights and reciprocal obligations, were brought into 
view and the patriarch became a magistrate — the representative of jus- 
tice, as well as a father — the representative of funnily affection. That 
the distinctive boundaries of these distinct relations were at once under- 
stood — that they are even now adequately apprehended where the nearest 
approximations to primitive society obtain, is by no means affirmed. It 
was only in the progress of a long, slow, providential education that the 
real natui-e of the commonwealth as contradistinguished from other 
communities, began to be unfolded. The State was developed with the 
progress of society — and as the necessity of its existence is laid in man's 
nature — as the supremacy of its claims — its high and awful sovereignty, 
is nothing but the supremacy of justice and of right, among moral and 
responsible agents, the State, through whatever organic arrangements 
its power may be expressed, is the creature of God, the sacred ordi 
nance of heaven. It is not a thing which can be made or unmade, it i^s 
part and parcel of the constitution of our nature as at once social an 
responsible. 

This view of the State connects it at once with the moral purposes of 
the Deity — and the whole history of the world shows that its develop- 
ment, which is the progress of liberty, depends upon the providential 
disposition of events over which the agency of man has no direct con- 
trol. All solid governments and all permanent liberty have grown 
much more out of circumstances than out of fixed and definite purposes 
of man. A nation of slaves cannot establish a free government — it is a 
thing for which Grod must have prepared the way, and all efi^brts to rise 
suddenly froni a condition of despotism into that of freedom have been 
attended with licentiousness, anarchy and crime. True liberty is a 
thing of growth — there is first a stock of acknowledged rights which 
are transmitted in the way of inheritance — the progress of society en- 
larges it with fresh and fresh additions — there is a conglomeration of 
the new and the old — a connecting link betwixt the past and the pres- 
ent — and the consolidation of inheritance and acquisition is the security 
of liberty. Hence from the very nature of man and the very nature of 
the State, and the very nature of liberty, political communities must 
receive their shape and direction from the circumstances in which the 
great Disposer of events has placed any people. The doctrine of de- 
pendence upon God is, accordingly, intertwined in the very fibres of the 
commonwealth. The State is a school in which the Deity is conducting 
a great process of education, and providential circumstances determine 
alike the lessons to be taught and the capacity of the scholars to learn 




124 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

tliem. The dangers, as in all schools, are those which spring from in- 
docility of temper — or from rashness and impetuosity, which would out- 
strip the leadings of Providence. Each indicates a spirit of indepen- 
dence of God — and each is apt to be rebuked with expressions of His 
displeasure. The difficulty with communities that have been long 
accustomed to the reign of despotism is, that they are too dull to learn — 
they are backward to follow the intimations of circumstances — they stag- 
nate in their corruptions ; and the outbreaks of revolutions are some- 
times necessary to rouse the people and put them in the attitude of 
progress. They distrust the Almighty and refuse to move until they 
are driven. 

The difficulty with free and growing communities is, that in the con- 
sciousness of imaginary wisdom and strength, they anticipate the slow 
progress of events, and casting off their dependence upon God, under- 
take to accomplish their destiny by their own skill and resources. They 
rely partly upon principles — partly upon men — partly upon both. Over- 
looking the concurrence of Providence, which is essential to the success 
of political combinations and arrangements, they vainly imagine that 
they can create the circumstances upon which they are dependent. 
There is a magic in their doctrines, or a charm in their schemes, or a 
power in their champions, which can subdue the elements and accom- 
plish the work of Him whose prerogative alone it is to speak, and it is 
done — to command and it stands fast. But the lesson of the Bible and 
of experience is ''that in the midst of all our preparations, we shall, if 
we are wise, repose our chief confidence in Him who has every element 
at His disposal — who can easily disconcert the wisest counsels, confound 
the mightiest projects, and save, when He pleases, by many or by few. 
While the vanity of such a pretended reliance on Providence as super- 
cedes the use of means is readily confessed, it, is to be feared we are not 
sufficiently careful to guard against a contrary extreme, in its ultimate 
effects not less dangerous. If to depend on the interposition of Provi- 
dence without human exertion be to tempt God } to confide in an arm 
of flesh when seeking His aid is to deny Him ; the former is to be pitied 
for its weakness — the latter to be censured for its impiety, nor is it easy 
to say which affords the worst omen of success." 

That this lesson is eminently seasonable in the present crisis of the 
nation, none can be tempted to doubt. It is possible that our confi- 
dence in the great statesman, whose death a nation has lamented, may 
have been such as to provoke the jealousy of that God who will not 
give His glory to another. We may have relied more upon his power 
of argument — his energy of persuasion — his integrity of character — his 



tiiornwell's sermon. 125 

public and private influence, than upon the secret operations of that 
Spirit who controls the movements of kings, and turns the hearts of the 
children of men as the rivers of water are turned. It is evident that 
what is needed at the present crisis is a spirit of patriotism — of justice 
and of loyalty to God. It is the temper of the people and of the rulers 
upon which, under God, the salvation of the country depends. If the 
whole nation could be animated with a single purpose to do what is 
right — if factions and parties and local and temporary interests could be 
forgotten — if the presiding genius in our halls of legislation were the 
sublime and heroic principle of justice — if every member there could 
be brought to feel that he was the representative of the whole nation, 
bound to promote, cherish and defend the interests of all, in conformity 
with the spirit and provisions of the constitution — if fanaticism could 
be rebuked and selfishness suppressed, and power awed into a sense of 
responsibility — who doubts but that all our difficulties would be speedily 
adjusted — that the clouds which threaten us would be rolled away, and 
the sun of union and liberty burst out again in meridian refulgence ? 
The production of this temper is not within the compass of man. To 
change the current of established associations — to dissolve the charms of 
prejudice — to break the fetters of interest — to enlighten the blindness 
of fanaticism and make power obedient to right — these are not the feats 
of argument or skill — they require the finger of God. It is He alone 
who can give the spirit of a sound mind. He alone has direct access 
to the souls of men — and in the removal of him, whom we were tempted 
to make our stay and our prop — He is exhorting us to trust only in 
Himself. Well will it be for us if we can learn the lesson. 

It becomes us, however, to remember that a people can trust in God 
only when they are seeking- the ends of righteousness and truth. Our 
dependence upon Him should teach us the lesson that righteousness 
exalteth a nation and sin is a reproach to any people. We cannot ex- 
pect the patronage of heaven to schemes of injustice and of wrong. The 
State is an element of God's moral administration — and to secure His 
favor it must sedulously endeavor to maintain the supremacy of right. 
He may overrule the wickedness of the people for good — He may even 
permit unrighteous kingdoms to flourish notwithstanding their iniquity — 
but as the habitation of His throne is justice and truth, it will be found, 
in regard to communities, as well as individuals, that Godliness is profit- 
able for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of 
that which is to come. " There is in the bosom of all human societies 
a desire and a power of ceaseless progress. It is struggling now — it 
will struggle to the end. Many failures have passed — many are still to 



126 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

come. Not until men clearly see the real and the only security for their 
threat dcvelopement, will these failures cease. If they will put their 
hands in the great hand of God, He will lead them firmly in the way. 
What is just, what is right, what is good, let them do these and they 
will fail no more — what is wrong, what is unju.st, what is evil, let them 
do these, under whatever pretext of political necessity and they cannot 
but suffer and fail — renew the struggle, and suffer and fail again — it is 
this great lesson which an open Bible and free institutions are teaching 
the human race." Freedom must degenerate into licentiousness unless 
the supremacy of right is maintained. We must co-operate in our spirit/ 
and temper and aims with the great moral ends for which the State was 
instituted, if we would reach the highest point of national excellenc^ 
and prosperity. The idtiniate purpose of Grod is that the dominion of 
Jesus should be universally acknowledged — and that nation only will 
finally and permanently prosper, whose people have caught the spirit 
and habitually obey the precepts of the Gospel. Every weapon that is 
formed against Him must be broken ; and the people that will not sub- 
mit to His authority must be crushed by His power. Why do the 
heathen rage and the people imaginge a vain thing? The kings of the 
earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the 
Lord and against His anointed, saying — let us break their bands asunder 
and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens 
shall laugh — the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall He 
speak unto them in His wrath and vex them in His sore displeasure. 
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion — I will declare the 
decree. The Lord hath said unto me — thou art my Son — this day have 
I begotten thee. Ask of me and I shall give the heathen for thine in- 
heritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou 
shalt break them with a rod of iron — thou shalt dash them in pieces 
like a potter's vessel. Be wise, now, therefore, ye kings, be instructed 
ye judges of the earth — serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with 
trembling — kiss the Son lest he be angry and ye perish from the way 
when His wrath is kindled but a little. 

If the accounts, which the Scriptures give, of the exaltation and 
universal dominion of Jesus, are to be relied on, there can be no doubt 
but that Christianity lies at the foundation of national prosperity. Peo- 
ple and rulers must be imbued with the spirit and observe the institu- 
tions of the Gospel. We insist upon no national establishment of 
religion — upon no human encroachments on the rights of conscience, 
but we do insist upon the individual and personal obligations of every 
man, throughout the broad extent of the country, to be a Christian, and 



THORNWELL S SERMON. 127 

the corresponding obligation to act as a Christian in all the departments 
of life, whether public or private. As Christianity is the presiding 
spirit of all modern civilization, it is the only defence of nations against 
barbarism, rudeness, anarchy and crime. Let Jesus be enthroned in 
every heart — and the nation that is made up of Christian men will soon 
be a jjraise and a joy in every land. 

But where the people and rulers know not the mediatorial King, 
whom God has set upon the Holy hill of Ziou — where His Sabbaths are 
profaned, His temples deserted, His grace despised — His favor must be 
withdrawn — the fountains of national virtue must dry up — and that 
lind must ultimately be given to wasting and desolation. The strongest 
security within which the institutions of this country can be entrenched, 
is the prevalence of the Christian religion. The State is an ordinance 
of God as God is in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself; and to 
those who have considered the bearings of the mediatorial government 
upon the prosperity of States, there is nothing surprising in the present 
darkness which overshadows the land. It is the rebuke of ungodliness 
and infidelity. From the highest to the lowest gradations in Society — 
from the chair of State, the halls of legislation, the courts of justice, the 
popular assemblies of the land, the cry of blasphemy, profaneness and 
atheism, has gone to heaven. God's Sabbaths are polluted for the pur- 
poses of gain — licentious and unprincipled demagogues make it a busi- 
ness to cheat the people with flatteries and adulations which are alike 
dangerous and blasphemous — offices are sought by open chicanery and 
corruption ; and amid scenes of revelry and riot — more befitting the 
orgies of Bacchus than the deliberations of a free people, the greatest 
questions of the nation are discussed. The debauchery of the people, 
and the triumph of demagogues, has always been attended with the 
worst form of slavery — that bondage of the soul in which every man is 
afx-aid to entertain an opinion of his own — in which the individual is 
merged in the mass ; and when this result is reached, the moral economy 
of the State being defeated, we can look for nothing but the righteous 
judgments of God. The reign of licentiousness is the prelude of 
national dissolution. The people that will not have Jesus to reign over 
them, must be slain before Him. He is exalted at God's right hand, 
above all principality and power and dominion, and we must submit to 
his sceptre, or perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a 
little. 

III. But this event may be finally considered as the death simply of 
a man, and in this aspect of the case, the pulpit, it seems to me, would 
but inadequately discharge its duty, if it failed to inculcate the distinc- 



128 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

tive provisions of the Gospel, as the only means of securing a triumph 
over this last enemy. There are many who admire the morality and 
praise the spirit of Christianity, but who are content to form no higher 
conception of its power than that of a moral institute, distinguished 
from the philosophical systems of men, by the larger compass of its 
views, and the more commanding influence of its sanctions. This is 
particularly the case with the educated men of the coijntry. It is pain- 
ful to witness the fact that so many of this class — to which it will be 
your distinction to belong — while professing, from the superficial atten- 
tion they have given to the subject, to believe that there is something 
ill the Gospel ; yet either from a lurking skepticism, or the absorbing 
influence of other cares and pursuits, are, for the most part, profoundly 
ignorant of what constitutes its essence and its glory. They view it 
from a distance — or detect nothing in it but an authoritative statement 
of the principles and tenets of natural religion. But ask them the ques- 
tion — what a sinner must do to be saved ? and the nakedness of their 
answers will evince too clearly that the great problem of redemption has 
never been earnestly considered. The difficulty is that they have 
never felt the malignity of sin. They have never experienced the sen- 
tence of condemnation in their own souls ; and the consequence is that, 
however they may respect the voice of Jesus as a teacher, they cannot 
be brought to submit to Him as a Saviour. The characteristic distinc- 
tion of the Gospel, is that it is the religion of a sinner. It is a grand 
dispensation of Providence and grace to rescue man from the condem- 
nation and ruin into which the whole race has been plunged by rebel- 
lion against God. The necessity of its arrangements is laid in the very 
nature of moral distinctions — from which it results that sin cannot be 
pardoned by an act of authoritative mercy. Without the shedding of 
blood there is no remission, and he alone can be properly denominated 
a Christian, he alone is entitled to the rewards and blessings of Chris- 
tianity — who, from a deep consciousness of guilt and ruin, has fled for 
refuge to the hope set before him in the Gospel. The calumniated 
doctrines of grace are the life and soul of our religion. Personal union 
with Jesus by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is indispensable to a 
real participation in the benefits of redemption. Through faith in the 
Divine Redeemer, death, the last enemy is conquered, subdued, de- 
stroyed. It becomes a gloi-ious thing to die — it is only a birth into a 
new and everlasting state of blessedness and glory. It is the preroga- 
tive of the faithful, and of them alone, to depart from the world in 
trivimph. There is no case on record — it has never happened in the 
experience of man — that death was welcomed — hailed with rapture and 



thornwell's sermon. 129 

delight — by any but those for whom its sting had been extracted by the 
blood of the great Mediator. Still we must guard against the delusion 
that the condition of peace or consternation, in which a man expires, is 
any certain indication of hi? future state. The riyhteous, through the 
temporary darkness of unbelief, through ignorance, or doubt of their 
acceptance in the beloved, or as a just visitation for past neglect, may 
be permitted to pass from the world in apprehension and alarm ; while 
the impenitent and wicked may be bolstered, in their last hours, with 
the same fatal props which have deceived them through life. The 
errors which have shaped their conduct may cling to them until the 
veil is withdrawn and eternity has become a matter of experience. It 
is no uncommon thing, it is true, for conscience, in the final struggle, 
to assert her supremacy — especially in the case of those whose unbelief 
and disobedience have been a conflict with reason and judgment. They 
are permitted, yet further, to look into futurity, and to read something 
of the fearful scroll which will be produced against them at the bar of 
God ; and they shrink back, with shudder and dismay, from the awful 
catastrophe that awaits them. Stung by remorse, and enlightened by 
the Scriptures, they feel that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands 
of the living God. Death is, indeed, a terrible object — the very king 
of terrors — they writhe and agonize and straggle against his encroach- 
ments. Clinging to life with the tenacity of despair, compelled and yet 
afraid to die — they curse the day and the hour in which it was said 
that a man child was born into the world. 

"In that dread moment, how the frantic soul 
Raves round the walls of her clay tenement; 
Runs to each avenue and shrieks for help, 
But shrieks in vain ! How wishfully she looks 
On all she's leaving, now no longer her's ! 
A little longer, yet a little longer, 
Oh! might she stay to wash away her stains, 
And fit her for her passage. Mournful sight! 
Her very eyes weep blood; and every groan 
She heaves is big with horrors. But the foe, 
Like a staunch murderer, steady to his purpose, 
Pursues her close through every lane of life, 
Nor misses once the track, but presses on ; 
, Till forced at last to the tremendous verge, 
At once she sinks to everlasting ruin." 

Such is the end of an awakened sinner ! 

There are others who depart from life with as much insensibility as 
9 



130 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

they eat or drink or sleep. Such men are pre-eminently sensual. They 
have never risen to any just conceptions of themselves — of moral re- 
sponsibility — of final retribution — of an immortal being. They have 
never felt that life was an earnest or serious reality — it has been to 
them merely a routine of mechanical observances, and as they have 
lived like beasts, they die like dogs. 

There are others, of a nobler mould, who reconcile themselves to dis- 
solution by the considerations of a stoical philosophy. They look upon 
death as an appointment of nature — an inevitable event, and they en- 
deavour to prepare themselves to submit to it with dignity and grace, 
since resistance is vain and escape impossible. They meet it, therefore, 
with the fortitude and courage with which they would encounter any 
other calamity. But still it is a calamity — it is not a messenger to be 
greeted — not an object of congratulation, of triumph and of joy. To 
this attainment paganism was competent before life and immortality 
were brought to light in the Gospel. The philosophers of the ancient 
world, by their dim and misty speculations, were nerved to die like 
heroes, though none could die like conquerors. But to be content with 
submission when victory is within our reach is heroism no longer. To 
endure when we might subdue is a low ambition. How different is the 
death of a Christian ! I am now ready to be offered, says the apostle, 
and the time of my departure is at hand — I have fought a good fight — 
I have finished my course — I have kept the faith. Henceforth there 
is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the 
righteous Judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but 
unto all them also that love his appearing. We are conquerors and 
more than conquerors through him that loved us. Through death He 
has destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and 
delivered them who, through fear of death were all their life-time sub- 
ject to bondage. It is the glory of Christianity to erect its trophies 
upon the tomb. Death and hell were alike led in triumph at the 
chariot wheels of Christ, and those who are in Him can sing the song 
of exaltation and of victory amid the agonies of their dissolving clay. 

Let me beg you, my young friends, however you may be tempted by 
the examples of the great, not to be contented with distant, partial, 
defective views of the economy of God's grace. It is not the greatness 
of their intellects which keeps them at a distance from Christ — it is 
not that they have discovered religion to be a cheat — not that they 
have weighed its evidences in the balances and found them wanting — 
it is simply because they have never examined the subject. From the 
natural alienation of the heart from God, the influence of early preju- 



thornvvell's sermon. 131 

dice, the distractions of business — the turmoil of ambition — the ab- 
sorbing power of their pursuits — they have kept aloof from this 
inquiry — and though they have won for themselves a name which pos- 
terity will not willingly let die — the very qualities of mind by which 
they have been enabled to do so, would lead them, if properly directed, 
to condemn their inattention to religion as an act of folly, of distrac- 
tion and of madness. Deceive not yourselves with vain hopes — Jesu.s 
is the only Saviour — in the day of final retribution there will be no 
respect of persons. On that great day shall be seen " no badge of 
State, no mark of age, or rank or national attire — or robe professional 
or air of trade." As in the grave whither we are all hastening, the 
rich and the poor are promiscuously mingled together, the distinc- 
tions of honour and of wealth vanish away as coloixrs disappear in 
the dark, so in the last day none can be found to claim the titles 
which were only concurrent upon earth. It will then be only "a 
congregation vast of men — of unappeudaged and unvarnished men — 
of all but moral character bereaved." The virtues or the crimes which 
appertain to each are all that he can carry to the bar of the Judge. 
All else will be left in the tomb — as the worthless badges of mortal and 
not immortal men. 

There is a distinction, however, that shall never fade away — the dis- 
tinction created among men by the possession of the Spirit and a per- 
sonal union with Christ. In the great day to which we have referred, 
when Grod shall arise to shake terribly the earth, and the destinies of 
all the race shall be irrevocably fixed — our right to life will depend 
entirely on the witness of the Holy Ghost. None can sustain their 
title as sons, but those whom He has sealed unto the day of redemption. 
To appear without His signet on our foreheads and His impress upon 
our hearts is to awake to shame and everlasting contempt. It will not 
be a question whether we have been gi-eat or mean, honoured or de- 
spised — rich or poor — it will avail nothing that Senates hung in rapture 
on our lips and nations bowed obedient to our nod — but it will be a 
question — the question — the turning-point of destiny — whether we 
have the Spirit of God's Son. If we have been among the miserable 
skeptics — who have not so much as heard whether there be a Holy 
Ghost — if our Christianity has been nothing more than a baptized 
paganism — if we have despised evangelical religion under the name of 
fanaticism — and laughed at pretensions to grace as the eff"ervescence of 
enthusiasm — if, from any cause, we have failed to be born again and to 
become new creatures, in Christ Jesus, however admiring multitudes 
may have chauuted our requiem and shook the very arches of heaven 



132 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

with their plaudits — unlimited duration will be the period assigned us 
to lament our folly and bewail the consequences of our terrible delu- 
sion. My young friends be not deceived — an endless duration is your 
destiny — feel its greatness — look above the earth — look to your home 
in the skies — -seek for glory, honour, immortality — but seek them only 
in the Grospel of God's grace. Resolve first to lay hold upon eternal 
life — and then you shall never need any good thing on earth. What 
stronger proof could you demand of the undying nature of the soul 
than that which is furnished in the last moments of our departed Sena- 
tor ? What sti'onger proof that our real existence begins only at the 
point of death ? Prepare for that existence — and your life here will 
be glorious — your death triumphant — and your end everlasting peace. 



ALLSTON'S EULOGY. 



Eulogy on John C. Calhoun, pronounced at the request of the Citizens of 
Georgetown District, on Tuesday, 23rd April, 1850. By Robert F. W. 
Allstox. 

To pronounce, acceptably, a Eulogy on Mr. Calhoun, whose merits 
weigh on every mind, whose praises are on every tongue, is no easy 
task; yet, to decline the essay would be to decline a labor of love, an 
honor, and a precious privilege conferred by you. Should my essay 
come short of public expectation, (as it must on so great a subject,) you 
will be pleased to accept the good will with which it is freely offered, 
in place of a better performance. 

Whilst giving me your attention on this interesting occasion, I invite 
you each to lend me your spirit-thoughts, to animate and to amplify 
my poor language, in recording some of the virtuous traits of his bigh 
character, some incidents of his stirring and eventful life, some excerpts 
from the political philosophy of his lofty genius. We all did love him 
for the purity of his private life, the engaging simplicity of his blame- 
less character, the devotion of himself to us and our interests. We all 
did prize him for his matchless services in the public councils, his rare 
sagacity in discovering truth, and the transcendent power with which 
he elucidated it; his undying attachment to his native State, and his 
untiring efforts to vindicate her rights, and promote her welfare. It is 
meet, therefore, that we assemble together, after the first poignancy of 
grief, to commemorate the virtues of so valued a citizen. That we 
should unite our hearts in utterance of the universal feeling which now 
pervades this community. The occasion itself — the abstraction from 
business — the intense interest of the people — these, constitute the eulo- 
gium indeed — expressive, brief and true. 

So far as words can go, the impulsive testimony of his great cotem- 
poraries, Mr. Clay and Mr. Webster, constitute the highest eulogy. The 
reflective, touching, well-measured, yet pregnant praise of the great 
Western Orator — the free, spontaneous, unmeasured and intelligent 
tribute of the pre-eminent Law-giver of the East, constitute together 
the most complete, the most enviable commentary upon human clinrac- 



134 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

ter and conduct — the character and conduct of an American, untitled, 
untravelled and self-sustained. 
( When we reflect that that American was one of us — a Carolinian — 
by birth, affection and true service ; the breast of every citizen glows 
with honest pride, and the heart of the Christian is ready to overflow 
with gratitude to the Author of our being and our destinies. 

Mr. Clay, 3Ir. Webster, and Mr. Calhoun, were universally ac- 
knowledged to be the three great luminaries in the political sphere of 
the Federal Republic. Entering the House of Ilepresentatives within 
two years of each other, some forty years ago, they have been identified, 
sometimes in conjunction, more often in opposition, with all the great 
questions of their day; the discussions of which are all stamped with 
the impressions of their superior intellects. 3Iost of all, it has been 
the lot of Mr. Calhoun to bear the brunt of the powerful, skilful, 
sustained antagonism of both his great compeers — of Mr. Clay, for in- 
stance, on the subject of the Restrictive System and the Currency — of 
Mr. Webster, on the Federal Constitution, relating to the powers of the 
(leneral Grovernment, State Rights and Remedies. Recently, on the 
grave and momentous question which now agitates the country, and is 
about to shake this Union to its centre, he encountered both together; 
though both were less determined in their opposition, and both ex- 
pressed a willingness to promote conciliatory counsels. Mr. Calhoun's 
health being broken and feeble, his speech on this occasion, by unani- 
mous consent of the Senate, was read by Mr. Mason, of Virginia. 
There is no citizen of South Carolina intent on his duty to the State, 
and to posterity, who can soon forget the profound sentiments of that 
memorable speech. There is no Southern man, unless he be pre-deter- 
mined to yield to partizanship, the talents due to his country, who can 
read that speech attentively, and still withhold his aid in promoting a 
"Union of the South for the sake of the Union." A spectator of the 
scene says, "when this speech was concluded, the veteran trio met in 
front of the Vice-President's chair, and joined hands. What a moment 
^ for the artist ! How as each scanned the worn features of the other, 
their minds reverted back to the scenes through which they had passed, 
and forward to the future — the eventful future I No three living men 
ever so completely enlisted the aff"eetions of their friends, or wielded so 
much influence upon the nation at large." The youngest, alas! of this 
most remarkable trio, is no more. The surviving Senators both 
declaimed over his bier — their recollections of him constitute a portion 
of his history. 

Hear, first, the great Orator of his age, his distinguished competitor 



allston's eulogy. 135 

iu many an ai'duous, well-contested debate: ''Ever active, ardent, able, 
no one was in advance of him in advocating the cause of the country, 
and in denouncing the injustice which compelled that country to appeal 
to arms. Of all the Congresses with which I have had an acquaintance, 
since my entry into the service of the Federal Government, in none, in 
my opinion, have been assembled such a galaxy of eminent and able 
men as were iu those Congresses which declared the war, and which 
immediately followed the peace. In that splendid assemblage, the star 
which has just set stood bright and brilliant. It was my happiness, 
during a great portion of the time, to concur with him upon all great 
questions of national policy. During the session at which the war was 
declared we were messmates, as were other distinguished members of 
Congress from his own patriotic State. I was afforded, by the inter- 
course which resulted from that fact, as well as from subsequent in- 
timacy and intercoui'se which arose between us, an opportunity to form 
an estimate, not merely of his public but his private life; and no man 
with whom I have ever been acquainted exceeded him in habits of 
temperance, in all the simplicity of social intercourse, and in the ten- 
derness, and affection and respect, which he extended towards that lady, 
who now mourns moi'e than any other the event which has happened." 
* * * * "■ 1 will say, in few words, that he possessed a 
lofty genius, that in his powers of generalization of those subjects of 
which his mind treated, I have seen him surpassed by no man, and the 
charms and captivating influence of his colloquial powers have been felt 
by all who have ever witnessed them. I am his senior, Mr. President, 
iu years, and in nothing else." * ''"' * * '' I trust 

that we shall all profit by the singular merits of his character, and 
learn, relying upon our own judgments and the dictates of our own 
conscience, to discharge our duties as he did, according to his best con- 
ception of them, faithfully and to the last." 

Hear also, the Eastern Orator, Mr. Webster, pre-eminent now for 
gigantic intellect, colloquial powers, and constitutional law: "Differing 
widely on many great questions connected with the institutions and 
good of the country, these differences never interrupted our personal 
and social intercourse. I have been present at most of the distinguished 
instances of the exhibition of his talents in debate. I have always 
heard him with pleasure, often with much instruction, not unfrequently 
with the highest degree of admiration. Mr. Calhoun was calculated 
to be a leader in whatever association of political friends he was thrown. 
He was a man of undoubted genius, and of commanding talent. All the 
Qountry admit that his mind was perceptive and vigorous: it was clear, 



V.iij THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

quick, and stroug. Sir, the eloquence of Mr. CJalhoun, or the manner 
of his exhibition of his sentiments in public bodies, tVas part of his intel- 
lectual character. It grew out of the qualities of his mind. It was plain, 
stroug, terse, condensed, concise, sometimes impassioned, still always 
severe. Rejecting ornament, not often seeking far for illustrations, his 
power consisted in the felicitousness of his espi'ession, in the closeness 
of his logic, and in the earnestness and energy of his manner. These 
are qualities, as I think, that had enabled him, through such a long 
course of years, to speak often, and yet always command attention. His 
demeanor, as a Senator is known to us all, is appreciated, venerated by us. 
No man was more respectful to others. No man conducted himself witli 
greater decorum, and no man with greater dignity. I think there is 
not one of us that felt nut, when he last addressed us from his seat in 
the Senate, with a form still erect, with a voice by no means showing 
such a degree of physical weakness as did in ftict possess him, with clear 
tones, and impressive and most imposing manner — there is none of us, I 
think, who did not imagine that Ave saw before us a Senator of Rome, 
when Rome survived. Sir, I have not, in public or private life, known a 
person more assiduous in the discharge of his appropriate duties. I 
have known no man who wasted less of life in what is called recreation, 
or employed less of life in any pursuits not connected with the imme- 
diate discharge of his duty. He seemed to have no recreation but in 
the pleasure of conversation with his friends. Out of the chambers of 
Congress he was either devoting himself to the acquisition of know- 
ledge, pertaining to the immediate subject of the duty before him, or 
else he was indulging in those social interviews in which he so much 
delighted. My honorable friend from Kentucky has spoken in just 
terms, of his colloquial talents. They certainly were singular and emi- 
nent. Thei'e was a charm in his conversation, and he delighted espe- 
cially in colloquial intercourse with young men. * * * * 
Mr. President, he had the basis, the indispensable basis, of all high 
character, and that was i;nspotted integrity — unimpeached honor 
and character. If he had aspirations they were high, and honorable, 
and noble. There was nothing grovelling, or low, or meanly selfish, 
that came near the head or heart of Mr. Calhoun. Firm in his pur- 
pose, perfectly patriotic and honest, lis I am quite sure he was, in the 
principles that he espoused, and in the measiares he defended, aside 
from that large regard for that species of distinction that conducted 
him to eminent stations for the benefit of the public, I do not believe 
he had a selfish motive or selfish feeling. However, sir, he may have dif- 
fered from others of us in his political opinions, or his political principles, 



AM.STON's EULO(iV. ]87 

those iDi-ineipIes, and those opinions will descend to posterity under the 
sanction of a great name. lie had lived lono- enouo-h, he had done enouo-h, 

< - CD ^ O " 

and done so well, so successfully, so liouorably, as to connect himself 
for all time, with, the records of his country. He is now a historical 
character. Those of us who have known him here, will find that he 
has left upon us, upon our minds and hearts, an impression of his 
person, his character, his performances, that v/iiile we live will never be 
obliterated. We shall, hereafter, I am sure, indulge in it as a grateful 
recollection, that we have lived in his day; that we have been his co- 
temporaries; that we have seen and heard and knovvn him. We shall 
delight to speak of him to those who are to come after us. When the 
time shall come that we ourselves shall go, one after another, in succes- 
sion, to our graves, we shall carry with us a deep sense of his genius 
and character; his honor and integrity; his amiable deportment in 
private life, and the purity of his exalted patriotism." 

More can scarcely be said of mortal man by experienced Senators, 
gentlemen whose command of language is complete ; who know well, 
and weigh the meaning of every line, of every word they utter. 

When a great public man has passed away, leaving a void in society 
which he alone could fill ; each one who had enjoyed the privilege of 
his acquaintance, or had become deeply interested in his views of public 
policy, his character and services, is apt to appropriate to himself the 
misfortune ; and to feel tliat he individually has sustained a grievous 
loss. Even among the enemies of his cause, the chivalrous champion 
will feel that a gallant spirit, necessary in some sort to his own hio-h 
distinction, is missing — that a noble foe has fallen — one worthy of the 
brightest and the stoutest lance, yet unscathed by his. 

How much then, how M'idely must the object of our thoughts be 
missed from the high sphere which he adorned, with the brilliancy of 
his sparkling intellect, with the native charm — the simplicity of genius. 
Born (1782) at the close of the war for independence, in the begin- 
ning of which his native State had gallantly espoused the cause of 
Massachusetts against the Mother Country. He died (1850) in the 
midst of a contest for " Equality or Independence," nobly contending 
to the last for the rights of his native State, in common with the 
Southern States, against the grasping cupidity and unjust aggressions 
of a Northern majority. Reared under the tender assiduities of an 
affable, sensible, virtuous mother, and the sterling uncompromising 
principles of an industrious, thinking, whig sire, he lived (to the age of 
sixty-eight), illustrating in the excellent haiiiKiny of his character the 
blending of his parents' best qualities. 



13s THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

It affords us a melancholy pleasure to dwell on those admirable ciual- 
ities of sovil, that elevated yet accessible nature, accessible to the most 
unpretending citizen as to the most exalted, the even and benign tem- 
per, the calm philosophy, the high moral courage and firm purpose, the 
indomitable energy and patient industry, the invincible powers of reason- 
ing, which so distinguished him. The power of his miud was prodi- 
gious — no man i-easoned more rapidly, clearly and concisely, bringing 
cause and effect together in one view, and arriving at results which 
startled all about him, even those in whose deep design they may have 
been arranged. His sagacity and forecast were most remarkable, 
amongst many remarkable statesmen of his day. His perception and 
penetration, so quick and sure, seemed to be intuitive. His enunciation, 
though rapid, was clear and distinct. His style of speaking may be 
described as that of one who thinks aloud. Add to these, a republican 
simplicity of habit, with courteous demeanor, chaste conversation, with 
blameless purity of life — striking originality of thought, with a profound 
wisdom founded on observation and reflection — where shall we look to 
lind his like again? The anxious inquiry is echoed and re-echoed from 
every mountain and hillside of his bereaved State. 

Some short time since we might have looked to the able bench of 
jurists in this State — there toas one there. Alas! he has gone before, 
to render his great account of the talents entrusted to him. South 
Carolina has, within a few years, lost this valued citizen, so like him in 
purity of motive, in simplicity of character, in love of truth, of justice, 
of virtue ; that my miud reverts to him with irresistible, pleasing and 
grateful remembrance. In the character of the late William Harper, 
who was associated with Mr. Calhoun, intimately and heartily, in the 
service of the State, when the State most needed wise counsels and true 
service, were combined all — the fearlessness and firmness of a spiritual 
nature, the gentleness, and candor, and fruitful invention of true genius, 
the discretion and wisdom of experience, learning, and reflection, so 
needed for the occasion which developed them. His was the worth 
most modest in his own estimation— the simplicity and beautiful truth 
of soul, most endearing to his friends — the unselfish devotion to his 
cause and country, most valuable to his constituents, and prized by all 
who enjoyed the privilege of serving with, and knowing him. His heart 
was in the right place — -it always glowed with generous ardor, and burst 
forth with uncalculating power, in defence of a righteous and noble 
cause. 

Next to the paramount influences of his mother home in Abbeville, 
the States of Georgia and Connecticut both contributed towards the 



ALLSTON S EULOGY. 139 

training and the storino- of his capacious mind. The social ties thus 
formed, out of his native State, together with his enlarged benevolence, 
and expansive range of thought, rendered him, in mature life, essen- 
tially liberal in his views of public policy, and in his intercourse with 
public men. His whole country was embraced in his comiH-ehensive 
good-will, his ardent attachment, his ever watchful devotion. His 
theory was — that to preserve and perpetuate the Federal system in its "^ 

singular beauty and power, it is indispensable to preserve also the integ- 
rity and relative power of its component parts, the States. No writer 
who has ever treated the subject, has thrown so much light, as Mr. 
Oalhoun has, on the true construction of this part of the Federal Con- 
stitution. 

Regarding it as "in words plain and intelligible, it is meant for the 
home-bred, unsophisticated understandings" of men; and so he ex- 
pounded it. " Justice is the end of all law." " Where there is no law, 
there is no rational freedom." The Constitution is the fundamental 
law, duly adopted, and sanctioned for the government of the United 
States— binding upon all alike, as well in the limitations it imposes, as 
in the authority it confers. The Constitution is the result of a compact 
between the States as States, instituted and agreed to by the people 
thereof; " in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, in- 
sure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the 
general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our 
posterity." Mr. CALHor.M has demonstrated, irresistibly, to minds 
unprejudiced and candid, that, by this Constitution, the States, each 
sovereign and independent before its adoption, have parted with no 
more of their sovereignty than is embraced in the powers expressly 
granted thereby, and those incident to, and necessary for carrying into 
elfect the granted powers. That an act passed by a majority in the 
Congress of the United States, not in accordance with the specific pow- 
ers granted by the terms of the Constitution, and in contravention of its 
spirit, is, in fact, no law, because it is inconsistent with, and in viola- 
tion of the fundamental law, which can only be altered or amended by 
the constitutional majority of three-fourths of the States. That the 
allegiance of the citizen is due to the State in which he resides, and by ' 
authority thereof (expressed by the Constitution) his obedience is due 
to the Government of the United States. That to insure domestic 
tranquillity, and to secure the blessings of liberty and a good govern- 
ment, it is incumbent on the several departments of the General Gov- 
ernment, the Legislative, the Judiciary, and the Executive, (each so 
prone to assume,) to exercise no doubtful power, but to keep strictly 



140 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

witliiu the bounds of their legitimate authority assigned by the Consti- 
tution itself. 

With the view to neutralize Mr. Calhoun's influence, and mar the 
effect of his argument against prohibitary duties, it has not unfrequently 
been urged that he favored and sustained the first '' Tariff of Protection." 
It is true that he and Mr. Lowndes did vote for the Tariff of 1816, but 
they were actuated by public-spirited and generous motives, which the 
mere politician is incapable of appreciating. 

The second war with Great Britain, memorable for the achievements 
of our gallant little Navy, and untutored Army, and crowned with the 
signal and decisive victory at New Orleans, left our country embarrassed 
with a heavy debt ; to meet the interest and installments of which, a 
revenue was necessary. It was proposed to raise this revenue by im- 
posts, or duties upon foreign importations, both for the sake of the 
revenue to be derived from this source, and for the purpose of sheltering 
fi'om the ruinous competition which awaited them, (on opening the ports 
to peaceful commerce,) the infant manufactures of various kinds, to 
which the necessities of the people and of the government during the 
war, had given rise. To abandon these establishments at the close of 
the war, when there was no further need of them, was not deemed 
sound policy in the opinion of considerate statesmen. Accordingly, 
Mr. Wm. Lowndes and :\Ir. Calhoun both voted for the Tariff of 1816, 
which imposed a duty of 25 percent, upon foreign importations, to be 
reduced to 20 per cent, in the year 1820. This is called the '' First 
Tariff of Protection." The year after its passage Mr. Calhoun left the 
House of Representatives, and assumed the duties of the War Depart- 
ment, under President Monroe ; a post which he filled with distin- 
guished ability, until he was elected Vice President of the United 
States, (1825). When the year 1820 rolled round, the capitalists en- 
gaged in manufactures, having enjoyed the benefits of protection for a 
season, were loath to relinquish them. So far from being willing to 
svibmit to a reduction of duties, as was contemplated by the Act of 1816, 
they arranged a plan to have them increased, and to establish per- 
manently the policy of Protection. Mr. Lowndes soon perceived the 
tendency of their scheme to monopoly, the unfavorable effect its opera- 
tion would have upon the Southern planting interest, and the conflict 
of the design with the spirit of the Constitution. He at once took a 
decided stand against it; as, in all pi'obability, his former colleague 
would have done, had he retained his seat in the House. 

Grreatly encouraged by success in this instance, the manufacturers 
prepared to carry their design still further. The value of the monopoly 



allston's eulogy. 141 

gained for the system rapid popularity : now called " The xlmerican 
System ;" it acquired proselytes wherever was to be found a water 
privilege for motive power in the Northern and Eastern States. By 
ingeniously connecting it with a splendid system of Internal Improve- 
ments, under the authority of the General Government, the material 
support of the Western Representatives was obtained, and thus a per- 
manent majority in favor of a high tariff was secured in both Houses. 

lu the years 1824, 1828, and 1832, successively, the duties were 
raised higher, and the tax on Commerce and Agriculture became more 
onerous and oppressive, until under the iniquitous feature of " minimum 
valuations," the duty on several articles of foreign commerce and general 
consumption, amounted almost to prohibition ; swelling enormously the 
great profits of the manufacturer, and increasing the distance, already 
great, between the Northern capitalist and laborer. 

Against these encroachments on the rights of one section of the 
Union, by the interested majorities of another, against this repeated 
abuse of power, unconstitutional, oppressive, and unjust, several of the 
Southern States remonstrated, but in vain. On the Journals of the 
United States' Senate, after the passage of the Tariff Act of 1828, the 
Legislatui-e of the State caused to be entered an able document in which 
for several reasons therein given, they do, in the name and on behalf of 
the good people of the Commonwealth, " solemnly protest against the 
system of protecting duties, lately adopted by the Federal Government." 

After the passage of the Tariff Act of 1832 by Congress, in defiance 
and disregard of the most respectful remonstrance and this formal pro- 
test, a Convention of the People of South Carolina, assembled in due 
form, at Columbia, and declared the said Acts of 1828 and 1832, to be 
unconstitutional, void, and not '^ binding upon this State, its officers 
or citizens." 

In adventuring on so bold an act as this, nothing that was due to our 
co-partners in the Union was overlooked, or left undone by the Con- 
vention. Addresses were published, severally, to the people of this 
State, and to the people of the United States, breathing sentiments of 
devoted patriotism ; justifying their ordinance by that very patriotism, 
by calm and cogent reasoning, and by their regard for principle and 
for duty. 

This act of the State, in her Sovereign capacity, incurred for her the 
deep displeasure of the Federal Government, then under the adminis- 
tration of the Hero of New Orleans — the most energetic, and far the 
most popular President of the present century. Threats of coercion 
were freely rumored at the Capitol. The Army and Navy were held 



142 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

up as in terroi'. Good meu there stood aghast at the temerity of the 
little State, in thus braving singly and alone, the unjust Government ; 
which many of them deemed unrestricted as well as supreme. Con- 
strained to yield their admiration to the spirit of lier citizens, they 
tremV)led for the fate of the gallant State. It was indeed a moment of 
anxious suspense, of fearful, noiseless excitement. 

Under the ban of the Union, her public men denounced, together 
with all who gave them countenance ; unsustained, apparently, beyond 
the limits of her own territory,* relying upon a good cause, and her own 
resources, our honored Mother calmly marshalled those resources, 
gathered her children to her side, and piously invoked the justice of 
overruling Heaven ! 

Such was the aspect of our affairs when Mr. Calhoun next became 
an active member of Congress, to encounter, with his colleagues, almost 
alone, the flushed champions of the Restrictive System. 

The spectacle was sublime I The example is priceless ! 

Descending from the chair of the Senate, which be had long filled 
with so mucli ability, impartiality, and dignity, he resigned (1832) the 
second office in tlie gift of the United States, took his seat on the floor 
as a Senator from his native State, to vindicate her principles, justify 
her conduct, and plead the cause of a violated Constitution — to stand or 
fall with South Carolina. 

The important and impressive debate of that day will be referred to 
by statesmen of aftertimes with deep interest and with much instruc- 
tion. It will be admitted that his powerful arguments, full mind, and 
sincere convictions, produced a decided effect, in opening the eyes of 
many to the true reading of the Constitution, to the expediency and 
policy of Free Trade, and to tbe more than dangerous usurpation of the 
Force Bill. 

The same Congress, at its second Session repealed the odious acts 
complained of, by enacting a new law called the Compromise Tariff, 
(2d Marcb, 1833,) by the terms of which the duties were to be reduced 
gradually during a space of ten years. By this act, quiet was restored 
to the country, which flourished greatly under its operation — the doctrine 
of free trade, and the principles of political economy, having acquired 
many substantial friends from the preceding instructive and able dis- 
cussion. The act of 1838 was brought about by the influence of Mr. 
Clay, of Kentucky, a name and an influence which is associated with 

* Citizens who Avere high in authority at that time, could testify that men and 
means were tendered by patriotic individuals out of the State, to be placed at 
her service in case the Government should attempt to coerce her. 



allston's eulogy. 143 

the most interesting events in American history during the present 
century. The wise feature in it by which the imposts, instead of being 
suddenly reduced, were to be modified by gentle gradations, covering a 
term of years, is due, as I understood, to Mr. Calhoun. Scarcely 
could a greater proof have been given at the time of the enlarged views, 
the high principle, and considerate wisdom of this eminent statesman. 
Knowing the importance of stability as a feature in the laws regulating 
trade, he preferred this gradual reduction to a sudden one, which would 
have given a shock to business, proved disastrous to many innocent 
persons, and which perhaps might have had the effect to renew the 
contest. 

A similar proof w^as afforded by his course, when the charter of the 
United States' Bank was under discussion. He was opposed to re- 
chartering the Bank, but was for carrying into effect the opposition 
considerately. Regarding the welfare of the country, and the nature of 
such institutions, he was in favor of extending the charter for twelve 
years, in order to afford the Bank abundant time to close its affairs, 
without pressing its numerous debtors to insolvency and ruin. 

Indeed, no discussion on any leading question occurred during Mr. 
Calhoun's continuance in the Senate, which did not receive the im- 
press of his master mind. As when treating a subject, he viewed it 
well in all its bearings, so he viewed his public duty. If, on surveying 
the field of duty, his judgment pointed out a particular path, he would 
press forward in the direction of that path Avith all the ardor of his 
nature ; seldom stopping short of attaining his end — and there was no 
such thing practicable as leading him astray by any collateral issue. It 
was not in the power of flattery, or sarcasm, or invective, to divert him 
from his steady aim — and that aim, however sectional he may have 
seemed at the moment, was never inconsistent with the good of his 
whole country — the prosperity, improvement, and happiness of America 
— nor with the welftire of mankind. 

In discussing the currency question, under Mr. Van Buren's adminis- 
tration ; the Ashburton treaty, under Mr. Tyler's j* and the boundary 
of Oregon territory, under Mr. Polk's : his reasoning was equally com- 
prehensive and liberal, and his conclusions just. Whether he urged 
immediate action, or " masterly inactivity," his counsel prevailed. 

* By this treaty, the dispute with Great Britain about the North-Easteru 
Boundary was settled. Containing, as it did, some features objectionable to 
Lim, Mr. C.\lhoun'.s prompt support aided materially in ratifying it. The 
North-Eastern Boundary is the boundary in fact of the State of Maine. Pending 
the negotiation, tke representatives of South Carolina unhesitatingly voted to 
invest the Executive with extraordinary powers to defend it in case of need. 



144 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

Peace was confirmed ; Commerce expanded ; Agriculture prospered ; 
Manufactures flourished. 

America owes his memory a deep debt of gratitude. 

The first step towards its liquidation may be taken by doing the 
simple justice which, in his public capacity, he demanded with his last 
breath ! Justice to the South — to the Constitution — to the Union. 

It is well known what a chief part Mr. Calhoun took in the annexa- 
tion of Texas, now a shining star in the American Constellation, and 
comprising within her limits, territory sufficient, with variety of soil 
and climate to constitute four more States. The successful agency 
which he had in that afi'air, proved to the world how valuable to the 
statesman, and to his country, in the field of diplomacy, as well as 
legislation, were the singular qualities of heart and mind, the pure 
morals, the simple manners of our lamented countryman. 

It is known, too, that he was not an advocate of the war with Mexico. 
He deemed it impolitic, not only upon general principles, but he fore- 
saw the domestic controversy to which the acquisition of territory, a 
necessary consequence of the war, would give rise; he foresaw, too, 
with anxious apprehension, that the spirit of conquest, always aggressive, 
and ultimately fatal to a Republican Government, might be engendered 
and fostered among the people, by the success of the Federal arms ; 
and when they were worse engaged, he alwaj^s contributed by thought, 
word, and deed, to their success. 

Unhappily, the Mexicans themselves rendered the war inevitable. 
The American troops exhibited their usual prowess, under every disad- 
vantage. They conquered in every field. Territory of immense extent 
and mineral value has been acquired. The domestic controversy has 
resulted, and is shaking to the foundation that noble political structure, 
the Federal Union. 

This unhappy controversy, for which we are in no wise responsible, 
is founded on the aggressive claim of the States North of Mason and 
Dixon's line, to the whole of the acquired territory ; and the resistance 
opposed to such claim by the States South of the said line, as oppressive, 
unjust, and inconsistent with the faith and the bond of the Federal 
Union. They allege that their object is, by means of the General 
Government to prevent the extension of our domestic system. "Wc 
contend for non-intervention ; that the General Government has no 
power to legislate thus partially, invidiously, oppressively ; and insist 
upon the right of pi'operty ; the individual right to emigrate with our 
social institutions, and upon our rights as States, under the Constitution 
of the Union. They, arrogating to themselves superior purity and 



allston's eulogy. 145 

patriotism, are for usurping tlie powers of the Union from out the Con- 
stitution, and consolidating- them, in the keeping of the tender con- 
sciences of a ruling majority of Congress — that majority being made up 
of their own representatives. AVe, on the other hand, avow, and will 
maintain for the Southern States, their " E(|uality, or Independence." 

In treating this controversy, in striving to prepare the way for a 
satisfactory, equitable, and permanent adjustment of it, Mr. Calhoun 
has devoted tlie latest moments of his valued existence, has exhausted 
the last energies of his nature. Who can forget the impression of his 
last great effort. The clearness and simple truthfulness of its statements 
— the calm philosophy of its reasoning — the elevation and dignity of its 
sentiment — the aspiration for united counsels — the demand for justice 
— the love of country which pervades the whole — the decision and firm- 
ness of its conclusion. 

The better to understand and appreciate him now, I deem it proper 
to recall some of the opinions relating to Government and the Federal 
Union, which he was known to have entertained when Vice President 
of the United States, and Avhich are destined to become maxims for the 
Republican. 

"That irresponsible power is inconsistent with liberty, and must 
corrupt those who exercise it." 

The two greatest dangers to our system of government, are the abuse 
of delegated power, and the tyranny of the greater over the lesser in- 
terests of society. To guard against the former, rulers must be con- 
trolled by constituents through elections. To guard against the latter, 
the Constitution must provide the necessary checks. 

"No Government, based on the naked principle, that the majority 
ought to govern, however true the maxim in its proper sense, and 
under proper restrictions, ever preserved its liberty, even for a single 
generation." 

An unchecked majority is a despotism. It is the purpose of a Con- 
stitution to impose limitations and checks upon the majority. 

The several sections of our country have a diversity of interests, dis- 
tinct and separate — each is to be duly cared for by the local govern, 
ment of the States. To a certain extent, we have a community of 
intei-est — this can be provided for only by concentrating the will and 
authority of the whole in one General Government, supreme in its legi- 
timate sphere. 

To draw the line between the General and State Governments: The 
powers of the General Government are particularly enumerated and 
specifically delegated; all others are reserved to the States and the 
10 



146 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

people. The former are intended to act uniforirdy on all the constituent 
parts, the latter can only operate within the limits of the State, or they 
may be granted by amendment of the Constitution. 

Our system consists of two distinct Sovereignties : 

1st. The original Sovereignty of the several States, which in their 
separate political character, created the Federal Government. 

2d. The ultimate Sovereignty — the majority of three-fourths of the 
States, by which alone the Constitution may be amended or changed. 

Congress and the Departments are but the creatures of the Constitu- 
tion, appointed to execute its provisions — and any attempt on the part 
of all or either of them, to exercise definitely any power, which in 
effect would alter the nature of the instrument, or change the condition 
of the parties to it, would be an act of the highest political usurpation. 
These were among his sentiments. 

His efforts were always directed to the preservation of the Union, 
not its dissolution. He never did contemplate a separation of the 
States until the last — perhaps the sad, the ungrateful experience of his 
latter days may have compelled him to dwell on the painful alternative. 
Even then, it was evident, such moments were unwelcome to him. His 
last words uttered in the Senate of the United States, indicate a strong 
desire on his part, to see amended the Constitution, to perpetuate the 
Union, as ftir as it was in his power to aid in doing so, in justice and 
harmony. 

How deeply interesting are the incidents of his last attendance, of 
few days, at the Capitol. How absorbing the interest Avhich he felt, 
the desire he expressed for united counsels among the Southern States, 
for the sake of the Union, if it could be saved — for their own sakes, if 
it could not. 

Behold the sage, the intrepid patriot! wasted by disease, consumed 
with intense reflection, and burning, prophetic thought; foreseeing evil 
to his loved country, and laboring to prevent it, even by the sacrifice of 
his life, if that would avail ; he comes from a bed of languishing, 
before the American Senate, to utter, aided by a friendly hand, a 
friendly voice, the singular wisdom of his native genius — the rich 
stores of a pent up, towering mind — the last solemn warning of an 
approved friend to his country, about to die in her service. 

A beacon light, which illuminated and cheered our pathway, is extin- 
guished — burning bright to the last, even after speech was denied to 
the physical man. But the light of his truth, and heaven-born genius 
is left, to point out to our young men the path of public virtue, and 
usefulness and honor. His soul exists still — exalted, I trust, through 



allston's eulogy. 147 

the grace of God, to that sublime sphere for which his pious convictions 
of future accountability, and his pure life in the midst of engrossing 
public duties, had prepared him. The gain is his — the loss all ours. 
It becomes us, nevertheless, to be resigned. God is good, "His ways 
are past finding out;" but they are always wise, and merciful and just. 
"He doth not willingly afflict, or grieve the children of men." And 
nothing is permitted to happen under the sun, without a purpose. 

Let us consider. Perhaps his admiring countrymen, the citizens of 
this State, relying too much upon the soaring genius, the pre-eminent 
abilities of Mr. Calhoun, may have omitted, or neglected, the less 
obvious, but practically important duty of their individual parts. 
Perhaps; but it becomes me not to pursue this train of thought. Profit- 
ing by lessons of the past, let each citizen look to the responsibility of 
his own part, in the portentous present — and as he loves his country, 
as he values his birth-right and his children's, let him see that he 
perform that part, however humble, however exalted, faithfully and 
well. 

Mr. Calhoun was one of those extraordinai-y men, who live beyond 
the age in the service of which they are actively engaged, and by 
which, too often, they are not duly appreciated. 

His teachers were experience, observation, reflection. Dwelling, 
habitually, on the nature of his high duties and responsibilities, and 
aided by his remarkable gifts — penetration into the character and 
designs of men, generalization of ideas and arguments, and accurate, 
rapid deduction, he often foresaw, and announced coming events, long 
before they were dreamed of by those around him. It will not excite 
our wonder, therefore, to remember that frequently he was not under- 
stood by those with whom he counseled, or with whom he acted — -that 
sometimes he was misconstrued and misrepi*esented. The wonder might 
be rather, that he was not deterred from pursuing his patriotic course — 
that his generous and firm nature never suffered itself to relax its unap- 
preciated labors in the public service. Yet he was no visionary. He 
cultivated early and long the habit of thinking justly. He frankly, 
and in the simplest language, gave utterance to his thoughts. Time, 
and his own fruitful services will prove that his mind more nearly re- 
sembled in its character, the prophetic, than the visionary. 

Generous Spirit ! the world will yet do justice to that lofty soul, that 
unselfish devotion, that sincere and bold heart, which animated your 
attenuated frame ! Young Carolina, roused by the example of your 
life — your death, will send forth her hundreds of men, touched by the 
influence of the mantle which you have worn — each vieiug to be fore- 



148 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

most, most courageous, most lionest in the patli of duty, and striving 
to approach that eminence of usefulness and virtue, which it vs'as your 
rare fortune early to have attained, and so long to have occupied ! 

Impartial history will decide that next to George Washington, no 
American has lived, who, in a long course of trying public service, and 
on every occasion, has so fully justified the confidence and expectation 
of the public whom he served. None, whose blameless and eventful, 
though peaceful career will reflect more true glory on the American 
name than John Caldwell Calhoun. 

Daughters of Carolina ! weep not for him now, but point your children 
to his illustrious example, closing a long life of public usefulness, and 
honor without a blemish. Foi'get not the power, the privilege, the re- 
sponsibility of woman's mission — not only gentle, benevolent and 
refining, but active, chastening, elevating. Remember, Washington 
was reared by a tender, pious mother, whose principles, pure as the 
sea-breeze and stable as the hills, formed as firm a foundation for his 
now venerated character, as does the mountain base of granite, for its 
lofty and majestic crest. 

Remember, that Calhoun, too, was reared by an exemplary pious 
mother, whose fortitude and love of truth, whose high integrity and 
self-reliant virtue impressed him deeply from his earliest boyhood. She 
thought no more of him than you do of that cherished boy, now look- 
ing up to you for virtuous example as well as precept. You know not 
but the destiny of States, the happiness of millions may, in the order 
of Providence, depend on the due exertion of his ripe manhood. Oh ! 
rest not until you have imparted to him a love of truth, justice, and 
benevolence; rest not till you have taught him to practice self-denial, 
self-control, and all the sublime precepts of the Gospel. 

You will thus have prepared him to digest the knowledge of the 
schools, and apply it to his country's service. 

You will thus have trained him, like our immortal countryman, to 
achieve that highest moral triumph — the mastery of mind over matter. 



COIT'S EULOGY. 



Eulogy on the Life, Character and Public Services of the lion. John C. Cal- 
houn, pronounced by appointment, befoi'c the citizens of Cheraw and its 
vicinity, on Wednesday, April 24, 1850, by the Rev. J. C. Coit. Published 
by the Town Council of Cheraw. 

Fellow Citizens : There are few that die who do not leave some 
behind to mourn. Natural affection, usefulness, dependence, or some 
other of the cords that bind the heart of man to man, are broken. Wo 
are not long in this world before we suflPer, or learn to sympathize with 
those who weep under this kind of bereavement. 

Beside this, there are public demonstrations of respect usual, when 
men die high in station, and where the tribute is often rather to the 
office, than to the character of the dead. 

But we have come together not only to mourn for the loss of a 
''friend, a countryman, a lover;" but also, moved by higher impulses, 
to render honor to the memory of him to whom honor is due. 

In attempting to direct your attention to those principles which lie 
at the foundation of our political institutions, to the study and vindica- 
tion of which Mr. Calhoun (in the love of his soul for truth and 
country) devoted his youth, manhood, and old age; and in support of 
W'hich he died; standing, as I do, by j^our own appointment, to speak 
of his fame; I may, in justice, ask of your candor and forbearance, a 
favorable construction, should any sentiment be uttered off'ensive to the 
opinions of any one of you; especially, (I speak among mine own peo- 
ple,) when none in former days presented a more fatal opposition, (1 
speak of the stake of mine own life,) to Mr. Calhoun's fundamental 
policy than your orator ; and when now, having for a long time been 
Mr. Calhoun's political disciple, I am to speak in his praise. 

Did I not firmly believe, (a faith obtained after many struggles, and 
over many and strong prejudices,) did I not firmly believe that as a 
political prophet, he has been a great light to the people; and that his 
positions are rooted in facts and truths, in justice, equity and freedom, 
I could never have consented to occupy this honorable place which your 
favor lias this day assigned me. 



150 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

I believe his political principles to be true. I believe them to be 
fundamental, I believe them to be vital to the constitution and union 
of this country. I believe more ; I hold them to be the political bul- 
warks of our religious liberties and the pillars of a government of truth, 
justice, equity and law. 

Mr. Calhoun was born in vVbbeville District, and remained until he 
was about thirteen years of age with his parents on the farm. Their 
intelligence, conversation, example, piety and discipline, (without the 
help of tutors or many books,) had trained and educated him up to that 
period; when he left home for the school. At school he evinced great 
activity, energy and capacity of understanding ; an unusual thirst for 
learning ; and a special fondness for history. His application was so 
unremitting and intense that his health was soon impaired ; and he was 
obliged to return to his mother, with whom he remained until he was 
about eighteen years of age, when he again left home for the academy, 
resolved to pursue as extensive a course of literary and scientific study, 
as the institutions of our country at that day afforded. He commenced 
the Latin Grammar, and in two years, he entered the Junior class at 
Yale College. At College he was marked for independence of mind, 
purity of morals, fondness for debate, power in reasoning, and for a clear 
comprehension of the elementary principles of ethics, politics and law, 
and for a singular enthusiasm in those studies. At Commencement his 
theme was significant of his youthful aspirations. ''What are the qual- 
ifications for a perfect statesman :"' 

On leaving college, he immediately commenced the study of the law; 
and in about two years, the practice of that profession. He was soon 
elected to represent his District in the State Legislature; and continued 
in the practice of the law, and in the Legislature, about four years. 
He left a reputation at the bar, highly honorable to his personal and 
professional character ; and while in the Legislature of his own State, 
stamped the traces of his image on the Statute book, to tell that he had 
been there, and that he had been there for good. 

In 1811 he was returned for Congress. The condition of the civilized 
world at that juncture was appalling in the extreme. The moral and 
political maxims of the French revolution, as to the dignity of human 
nature, ''the rights of man," liberty and equality, had run their course 
through France; convulsed and overthrown the kingdom; fused the 
social elements into a burning and devouring lake of fire, and melted the 
foundation of the pillars that had supported all the governments of 
Christendom. From out of that lake of fire had arisen that awful form 
X)f brass and iron, whose dominion was over all Continental Europe, 



coit's eulogy. 151 

(save the frozen North,) and who, at that moment, was contending witli 
Great Britain for the empire of the whole world. 

Far removed from the arena of conflictino- armies, our country was 
apparently at peace. But the minds of our countrymen were tossed and 
driven about by the warring winds of opposite moral and political opin- 
ions; and their spirits were as chaff prepared for the fire. The country 
was divided into two great political parties. The one, if not sympathiz- 
ing with Napoleon, yet with his enmity to Great Britain ; and regard- 
ing his mission as the cause of liberty and the people, against hereditary 
artistocracies, kingdoms, empires and despotisms, heartily wished well to 
his star; rejoiced in his triumphs, and echoed back across the Atlantic 
the shouts of his victories. The other party regarding him as the 
scourge of God upon the nations; and looking upon Great Britain as 
the only earthly bulwark for the salvation of the world from the heel of 
this inodern Attila; trembled at every rumor of his success; for they 
regarded him as the incarnation of enmity to truth, virtue, liberty, and 
religion. 

Most of our countrymen were at that day upon the Atlantic slope ; 
and though young, we were an important maritime people, our vessels 
navigating every sea; extensively engaged in neutral commerce with all 
the world at war. And it was at this moment we were in danger of 
becoming the prey and the spoil of all other nations. 

The effect of the mutual policy of British and French diplomacy, (as 
evinced by the Berlin and Milan decrees, and the orders in council,) 
was to seize our vessels, and insult, impress, or imprison our people. 
The thunder of our cannon had never been heard abroad amone; the 
nations of the earth ; and our flag carried upon the wind no spell of 
terror or respect; and imposed no awe in foreign parts, to check the 
contempt, rudeness, injustice and violence, that among barbarous people 
at all times, and among civilized nations in times of trouble and war, 
devour the property and people of a nation so tame and so weak that 
there is no fear of the thunderbolt of retribution. 

Such was the condition of the world abroad and at home, when Mr. 
Calhoun first stood before the American people, as one of their rulers 
in the House of Representatives from South Carolina. 

Mr. Jefferson's policy to meet the exigencies of the times, had been 
the defence of the turtle. lie wished to keep our people and property 
at home, within our own shell. It was the non-intercourse, the embargo, 
the gun-boat system. If he could, he would have made the waves of 
the Atlantic, flames of fire. He would have cut off his country and 
people from all intercourse Avith the old continent. Tt was the weakness 



152 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

of his administration that he endeavored to do so. Mr. Jeiferson's 
mind was profoundly philosophic ; yet had a vicious taint of idolatry, 
for his own idealisms and theories. 

Mr. Calhoun, who bowed with reverence to the sacred supremacy of 
truth, justice, and honor, in dealing with men and nations, in the high 
concerns of international coi*respondence, polities and law, considered 
well the nature of the clay in his hands. He knew he was not a crea- 
tor, but a potter; he therefore dealt with men and human affairs as they 
actually were; and not like Mr. Jefferson, as tiiough they were what his 
philosophy taught him they ought to be. Herein differed (as I con- 
ceive,) these eminent statesmen. Mr. Calhoun received truths and 
facts as realities; and acting on them, the works of his hands stand 
when the winds and the storms come. Mr. Jefferson's foundation 
stones were too often the phantoms of his own imagination ; and there- 
fore the base of his works in places has caved in. 

Mr. Calhoun immediately took (what has always been characteristic 
of the man) an independent position in Congress. He never descended 
to be the leader of a party; and was always too high toned in honor, 
truth and virtue to bear the yoke. He denounced the non-intercourse 
system as tame and unmanly; as ruinous to the character of our country 
abroad, to the prosperity of our people at home ; and as palsying to their 
self-respect, and to a high spirit of national independence. As a people 
we had no fame abroad; and no marked character at home. Yet in the 
cradle 3Ir. Calhoun's sagacity discerned the bone, the muscle, the 
foot and the head, of the infant Hercules. The babe was not conscious 
of its powers, or its destiny; but it devolved on those whom Providence 
had placed as tutors and governors of this child of promise, to awake 
him from his terrific dreams, and sleeping convulsions; and Mr. Cal- 
houn was the man who blew the trumpet, put the lad on his feet, and 
the club in his hands. In the first speech he made for his whole 
country "his voice was raised for war." 

There are in our day dreamers, as there were in the days of Mr. Jef- 
ferson, who dream that wars are wrong ; though their dreams come 
from a different kind of imagination. Some now hold that war is in 
itself a moral evil ; and that any degree of insult, injustice and oppres- 
sion should be passively borne, rather than resort to the terrible ordeal 
of arms. 

I believe that among serious persons, this persuasion cometh from a 
confusion in their minds of the divine and human governments. The 
nature of these dominions is different and antagonistic. The one is 
purely spiritual; its subjects the spirits and spiritual powers, the minds 



coit's eulogy. 158 

and the hearts, the thoughts, affections and passions of individual men. 
In this kingdom, where the spirit of the Lord reigns by the sceptre of 
his word over the soul, there love to God and man, and all the Christian 
graces, flourish; and all envy, wrath, malice, resentment, contentions 
and personal fightings among the subjects of this kingdom, are incon- 
sistent with its dominion. Here man has personally no rights; and his 
liberty consists in having an eye to see, an ear to hear, and a heart to 
understand and obey the word of the Lord. It is the kingdom of faith 
and patience, of passive, unresisting, meek obedience to the word and 
the providence of God. Here is a communion, through the Mediator, 
of Ci'eator and creature, Redeemer and redeemed, Sanctifier and sane, 
tified, sinner and Saviour, father and child. This is the kingdom of 
heaven; and though in this world is not rj/this world; and where this 
dominion is set up and reigns in the heart, there can be personally be- 
tween its subjects nothing but mutual love; fightings and wars between 
them are excluded. Jesus answered Pilate, "my kingdom is not of 
this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants 
fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews." 

Here our Master intimates that it is characteristic of the kingdoms 
of this world that their subjects or citizens wi7/ fight, to save their king 
or sovereignty from captivity. And it was a doctrine held profoundly 
by Mr. Calhoun, that no earthly kingdom or State can maintain its 
proper rights of sovereignty, without there be in those to whom the 
sovereignty belongs, an understanding to know, a vii'tue to appreciate, 
and a spirit to maintain this royal prerogative, if need be by the sword. 
The imperial or crown rights of a State, or of her people, involve the 
high moral obligation to protect the lives, the property, and honor of 
the subject or citizen. Mr. Calhoun was appointed one of the rulers 
of the State or kingdom of this world. In these kingdoms, falsehood, 
violence, and rapacity reign among the people and among the nations : 
and his country was about to be made a prey and a spoil for them all. 

There are two forms of human government that have the Divine. 
sanction ; (the only true basis of moral right for the dominion of man 
over man,) and these two governments are the civil and domestic. The 
domestic government is recognized and sanctioned j,by the word of the 
Lord, where the father and master bears rule over the subjects in the 
house, especially over children and servants. Tlie temporal sanction of 
this law is the rod of correction. In the hands of the civil ruler of a 
people God hath put the sword ; not a dove, the emblem of meekness 
and love ; but a s^ioord, as a " terror to evil-doers, and a praise to them 
who do well." The State is not a benevolent society, on a r'harita])Io 



154 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

foundation ; but the fundamental institute among men, for human 
JUSTICE. For tlie right and lawful use of this sword they who havo 
proper sovereign rights in kStates, arc responsible to no human tribunal, 
but to God only. 

When we consider the condition of the world in arms, our own 
countrymen divided in sympathies with the combatants; a large part of 
the Jeffcrsonian democracy for a sort of passive neutrality and non- 
resistance ; nearly one-half the nation opposed to war ; some few for a 
war with both England and France ; the dissensions and violent factions 
among our people ; the country without an army or navy of any ade- 
quate moment ', without munitions of war ; without pecuniary resources; 
if we ponder upon these things, and look at the young Calhoun with 
all the confidence that a conviction of the truth, justice, and honor of 
his cause could inspire ; with a zeal kindled by a supreme love of his 
country ; and with an unwavering reliance upon a righteous providence ; 
calmly beholding and scanning all the difficulties and dangers that 
stared them in the face; urging an instant resort to arms ; if we note 
the formidable power of the Federal party, and the terrible opposition 
of John Randolph, (^who had then been ten years in Congress) ; if we 
attend to all these things, and to the agency of Mr. Calhoun in pro- 
curing the declaration of war ; and then note the trials of that war 
which followed his movement ; we may understand the force of the 
expression of Mr. Dallas, that the young Carolinian was the Hercules 
who took the burden of the war on his own shoulders, and carried it 
triumphantly through to a glorious peace. 

During the war, Mr. Calhoun was chairman of the committee of 
Foreign Relations ; and upon him was imposed the duty to conceive the 
plans, and report the bills, for sustaining and carrying on the war ; and 
notwithstanding the unceasing and violent encounters with a most for- 
midable opposition in Congress, the tumults in the country, and the 
innumerable difficulties that encompassed his daily path ; yet he was 
always found equal to the day; calm, great, confident, unwavering — 
not in self-confidence, but reposing upon the truth, righteousness, honor, 
and independence of his cause ; upon the virtue, patriotism, and spirit 
of his countrymen ; and upon the favor of an overruling Providence ; 
he never, never fainted or despaired. He was not the man to " give 
up the ship." 

And now, fellow citizens, in all countries upon the face of the earth ; 
on every shore, in every sea, the flag of our country is for an ensign to 
the people, savage or civilized. It is a terror to evil-doers, and a praise 
to them who do well. It carries upon the wind the charm of a solid 



coit's eulogy. 155 

protection, like a fortress of stone and cannon of iron ; it is a sure de- 
fence for tlic persons and the property of all who are found under the 
shadow of its ample and glorious folds. We hear no more of the im- 
pressment of our seamen, the confiscation of our property, or of insults 
and injuries inflicted upon our countrymen abroad. 

Mr. Calhoun's character as a statesman was first exhibited in the 
principles which he advocated, and on which he relied in the declara- 
tion and conduct of that war. National independence, prompt resent- 
ment for injuries inflicted upon the persons, liberties, or property of 
our citizens; an unwavering confidence in the cause of his country, 
because it was the cause of righteousness, truth, liberty and honor. He 
fully understood the lawful function of the sword of Caesar; and that 
every nation or State that would have their rights respected, and who 
would maintain their liberties and independence, must be ready (if all 
other means fail) to maintain them by military power. 

From that day to the day of his death, he has manifested his faith 
in this last appeal, as the sure defence of those rights of the State that 
are properly sovereign, against the usurpations of an overshadowing 
central empire. He firmly believed that the constitution and the nature 
of our federal government admitted of a peaceful mode of redress for 
these usurpations; but if that remedy failed, or was denied, and the 
federal government attempted to enforce their usurpations by military 
power; he hesitated not about the duty of a State to resist by the 
sword — even under circumstances the most gloomy and appalling. If 
Congress present to a sovereign State the dilemma of "slavery or 
death," he did not hesitate "which of the two to choose." He knew 
well that such is the nature of man, and the instincts of all human 
governments, that the more powerful in an intimate federal alliance, 
will, by a law, as constant in its operation as the law of gravitation, 
the more powerful will, gradually, overshadow and absorb the sovereignty 
of the weaker. Hence he believed that under our federal system an 
incessant vigilance, a sleepless jealousy, and a promptness of re.sent- 
ment on the part of the United States, (in every attempt at federal en- 
croachment) manifesting a knowledge of their rights, and a spirit wil- 
ling to make all sacrifices necessary to maintain them, was the only 
mode in which the inestimable blessings of our political constitution 
and federal union could be maintained, and handed down unimpaired 
to posterity. And I know no lesson wc can learn from his history more 
useful to our country, and more honorable to his memory, than to culti- 
vate in our own minds, and infuse into the spirits of our children, a 
sacred regard to the supreme law of the land, the federal constitution — 



150 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

a reverence for and prompt obedience to that which is law, political and 
civil — and a firm and conscientious purpose of mind to resist, even 
unto death, at the call of the sovereign voice of the State, the reign 
over us of Congressional usurpation venality and injustice — a dominion 
that never can reign over the spirits of living men until it has first 
written upon their foreheads the names of the moral vices within — dis- 
honor, degradation, cowardice and infamy. 

When the question is simply one of submission or resistance to a 
dominion over us, which has no moral, civil, or political right; to a 
sheer usurpation, a naked exercise of mere arbitrary and physical 
power; though it may be clothed in forms of law; a free and a spirited 
people can never halt to choose. And freemen who have counted the 
cost of maintaining Federal or State sovereignty and independence, 
and know that in the last analysis, their bodies are its only bulwarks, 
and their own lives the stake, cannot forget who those prudent friends 
are, that, to rivet the yoke of oppression upon the neck of the weak, 
exhaust their eloquence in expatiating upon the horrors of war and the 
tremendous consequences of resistance to superior power. Such are 
the usual topics of persuasion and argument in the rhetoric and logic 
of tyrants and usurpers. But did they avail before the days of the 
revolution ? did they avail in the second war for our Federal Indepen- 
dence, the war with Britain of 1812 ? did they prevail in the days of 
nullification? "The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to 
the strong." There is a righteous Providence that overrules the affairs 
of men ; and the moral strength of a cause is worth more than legions 
of mercenaries. It was not an actual or oppressive infringement upon 
the personal liberties or the private property of the colonists that 
caused the war of the revolution. But a declaration put on record, 
that the Parliament had a right to tax the colonies. Our fathers re- 
garded this as a denial to them of the equal constitutional rights of 
Englishmen ; and as a political degradation. They therefore blew the 
trumpet and girded on the sword. The cause of the colonies was really 
the cause of British freedom. Who can forget the noble and indignant 
reply of Lord Chatham to George Grenville ? " I ask when were the 
colonics emancipated?" "and I desire to know," said Chatham, "when 
were they made slaves ?" The cause of America was nobly vindicated 
in the houses of Lords and Commons in Parliament. And we, my 
friends, if we shall ever be driven by federal usurpation, injustice and 
violence to stand to our arms in defence of the constitvition of our 
common country, and the sovereign rights of the States, shall have in 
our behalf the hearty sympathies and eloquence of all the Chathams in 



coit's eulogy. 157 

the North, and in the East, and in the West; the .swords of their La- 
fayettes will be drawn in the ranks of our volunteers; and Ave shall 
have the military aid of ijome at least of our sister States. The cause 
uf State rights and State sovereignty will never be a desperate cause 
'till the seed of revolutionary heroes is extinct in our land. 

Doubtless in all approaches to a iinal arbiter of a nation's indepen- 
dence, the horrors and calamities of war, more or less, distress the 
uiinds of all men. Some are greatly agitated and desponding; and 
there is always to be encountered a high-souled opposition more or less 
powerful; as brave, as patriotic, as wise as those who call for arms; 
and who yet do not see how the exigencies of public affairs can justify 
war. At such times also is to be heard "the bleating of the sheep and 
the lowing of the oxen," the expostulations and cries of those who are 
by nature timid and unresisting, and of those who are born to wear the 
yoke. But the body of the people, intelligent, self-sacrificing, and 
patriotic, with a deep and calm conviction of the moral necessity, the 
duty of war, look at the worst possible issue. To kill the body is all 
the mighty can do, and whether to save that it be right and comely to 
bow the neck to the yoke of the oppressor, to leave their children an 
inheritance of national degradation and vassalage, is an issue that every 
conscientious and honorable man may at times be forced to make. 

We have adverted to the principles upon which Mr. Calhoun justi- 
fied an appeal to arms in 1812, in defence of our whole country; we 
have glanced at the issues of that war. At its close, Mr. Calhoun 
stood a prominent pillar before his countrymen and before the world — 
the master spirit in Congress. 

The condition of all the affairs of the country was then depressed 
almost to the point of ruin. The currency was rotten, the circulating 
medium varying from five to thirty per cent discount. Commerce anni- 
hilated. Manufactures on the brink of bankruptcy. The revenue not 
adapted to the new condition of affairs. The army and navy demand- 
ing instant attention. At this juncture, Mr. Calhoun was put at the 
head of the committee on the currency. In a report sustained by his 
powerful reasoning and elocpxence he vindicated the policy at the time 
of a United States Bank. He carried his measure, and his policy tri- 
umphed over the diseases of the day. 

In 1817, he was called from Congress by Mr. ^lonroe to preside 
over the department of war; and in this office he manifested the highest 
order of talent in administration. AVhere he found darkness and chaos, 
he left light and order. He stamped the image of his own mind on the 
constitution and laws of that department. There are now clearness, 



158 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

system, responsibility, promptness, enersy, economy in the evolutions 
and workings of the system — and so perfect and complete were his 
arrangements and rules, tho>^he ms&kinery of that department remains 
substantially as he left it, and moves on in harmony, fully adequate to 
all the exigencies of the country in peace or in war. He vindicated 
the policy of a small standing army, as more safe for a free people, yet 
organized on a plan that would admit of a quick expansion from 5 to 
30,000 men. He ever maintained by his cxamj)le and influence, 
economy in the management of public affairs ; and yet was for a policy 
of liberal expenditure, that was for the good and welfare of all sections 
of the country. He was a fast friend of the IMilitary Academy at 
West Point; and his wisdom has been tested by the issues of the 
Mexican war. 

He was friendly to large expenditures, as becoming the dignity of 
the Federal Union, when measures of general and universal utility were 
proposed — such as the protection of commerce, and the public marine — ■ 
the improvement of harbors on the sea coast — and in outlays for light- 
houses, and fortifications for public defence against foreign enemies. 

In the department of Indian aff"airs he labored with patience, zeal, 
wisdom, and humanity, for the true welfare of the Aborigines. 

In 1824, he Avas a prominent man in the eyes of the people for the 
office of President. There were also other distinguished men. Jack- 
son, Crawford and Adams. Mr. Calhoun opposed the nomination of 
a candidate by a congressional caucus ; because he believed that the in- 
ouuibent President would have such an influence in a body so consti- 
tuted, that he would be able virtually to nominate his own successor — 
a power dangerous to the liberties of the country. Mr. Crawford re- 
ceived that nomination. The result was the election of Mr. iVdams as 
President, and Mr. Calhoun as Vice President. 

During the administration of Mr. Adams, a federal policy was avowed, 
and to a great extent adopted, which has been called ''the American 
System." It has met high favor with distinguished men — such as Mr. 
Adams, Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, and others. It was based upon a 
liberal construction of the constitution, as to the powers of the federal 
government. Time forbids to examine the political philosophy of that 
system. We shall merely advert to some of its features, as they are 
intimately connected with a condition of public aff'airs, which that 
system produced, and in which Mr. Calhoun was called to act a con- 
spicuous part. The doctrine had become popular in certain sections, 
that whatever policy or measures the President and a majority of both 
Houses of Congress deemed to be for the general welfare of the people 



coit's eulogy. 150 

of the United States (if not expi-essly forbidden by the letter of the 
constitution) the President and Congress had the constitutional power 
to adopt and pursue. 

Under some vaa;ue notions of his own ^dvcreian riohts, and of the 
powers of Congress ; and under the pressure of conscience of duty ; or 
an ambition to distinguish his administration ; the new President, in 
his messages to Congress, recommended and advocated enterprises, and 
works for public utility and eclat, upon a magnihcent and imperial scale. 
High tariffs, profuse expenditures for internal improvements, and a 
national bank, were the three sides of the triansle of the American 
system. 

Mr Calhoun perceived the monstrous iniquity and oppression that 
system would impose upon his section ; which was occupied by an agri- 
cultural people, exporting cotton, rice, and tobacco ; the produce given 
to foreigners in exchange for the bulk of all the imports upon which 
the tariffs were to be imposed. The benefits of the system were wholly 
appropriated to the sections east and west. It was not, therefore, for 
" the general welfare," (under the meaning of the constitution), but it 
was for sectional welfare. The high tariffs protected and fattened the 
immense manvifacturing interests of the east ; the large revenues which 
the tariffs produced, were wanted by the west to make roads, canals and 
other internal improver^ents for them. The South was for a spoil for 
both sections. The syiAem lasted long enough to prove that the west 
and east, by uniting on a policy for the common interests of both sec- 
tions (high tariffs) could fasten the burden on the country; and that 
the proceeds of the custom house would be permitted to cross the moun- 
tains, to fertilize the western wilderness. The tariff of 1828 is a monu- 
ment of this Congressional usurpation and injustice. 

Nearly the whole South were opposed to the tariff from a general 
conviction that it operated against the pecuniary interests and pros- 
perity of that section : there is an instinct in the minds of all sorts of 
people quick to discover such a tendency of legislation; "the ox 
knowetli his owner, and the ass his master's crib." But to resist the 
operation of laws, because of such effects, wher\? the warrant of the 
constitution gives validity to their enactments, is rebellion, and the 
oppression must be extreme to palliate the guilt of any kind of physical 
obstruction to their execution, and no degree of suffering could morally 
justify armed resistance that would not justify a fundamental revolution 
of the government. 

But 31r. Calhoun was the man who (with others) saw that the 
American system was a virtual abolition of the constitution itself; a 



1(30 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

death-blow to the sovereign rights of the States, and a degradation of 
the Southern States into counties or pj-ovincial departments of the 
federal government. 

That a majority have the right to govern, became the popular cry, 
east and west, and of the national party everywhere ; and as that ma- 
jority was represented by the President, Senate, and House of llepre- 
sentutives in Congress, mere enactments of the federal government, 
( when made without the authority of the constitution,) began to carry 
to the popular mind the obligations of civil and political law, and 
therefore of moral law. They likd the sanction of something majestic 
and imjierial about them ; and to call in question the legal or moral 
force of the federal edicts, seemed to very many of our people to have 
a taint of political impiety or of moral treason about it. In the mean- 
while the constitution itself, the immediate source of all the lawful 
power of Congress, was forgotten. Congressional legislation had made 
precedents, and precedents had made law, and such law had formed a 
veil which hid the constitution from the public eye ; and that veil had 
been well painted by the judicial decisions of the federal court. But 
Mr, Calhoun saw through that veil the majesty, the authority of the 
supreme political lawgivers ; he saw through that veil of our legal Moses, 
the sovereign rights and immunities of the States, the makers of the 
constitution, the creators and lawgivers of the federal government itself. 
He read in history and on the face of the constitution what was written : 
that this Union is a federal union of States, originally sovereign and 
independent ; that in and by the compact of union, (the federal consti- 
tution,) the States, each, gave freely (not surrendered) to the federal 
government a number of their sovereign powers ; and that all the rest 
of their inherent powers, they each respectively reserved to itself, its 
State government, and its own people. That the union is one of com- 
pact and mutual covenants ; that its foundations were the precious 
stones of truth, justice, equality, liberty, and honor. He perceived 
that the constitution must from its very nature (as a league among 
sovereign States) remain de Jure et per propria vigore, in its perfect 
symmetry and proportions, integrity, sanctity, and supremacy ; while 
there was among our people a regard to the faith of public covenants, 
or force in the sanctions of religion. That nothing can be added to it, 
nothing can be taken from it, but by its own force and virtue. No 
current of Congressional procedure or legislation, no line of decision by 
the supreme court. No heretical commentaries, no apostacies of its 
professed disciples. No expressions of the opinions of its founders, and 
none of all other men ; that nothing can politically, (we are not speaking 



coit's eulogy. 161 

of its bearing on citizens as subjects of law,) that nothing can politically 
impair the supreme force, pre-eminent authority, and fundamental ob- 
ligations of that written compact and treaty^ the bond of the federal 
union. It was intended and is a refuge for the oppressed, a defence 
for the minority from the encroachments of the majority ; the strong, 
moral, and political fortress for the defence of the rights and sovereignty 
of the States and the people. 

If wc look to history and the constitution to learn the nature of uur 
federal government, our federal rights, liberties, and obligations, we 
shall see that they rest ultimately and fundamentally on compacts and 
covenants. To hccp t.cfaHh of these covenants, therefore, is the very 
life, truth, and bond of the federal union. The citizens of the States 
have two classes of rights. Federal and State r{ghts as riders; they 
also are under two kinds of oUhjatlon, as mbjeets of the Fedei-al and 
State government. This union was made for the preservation of the 
States, and not for their destruction. It was made for that welfare of 
the States which is general and common to them all, in opposition to 
that welfare which is local, sectional, geographical It was made for 
the welfare of the people of all the States, in things common to them 
all; the common or general wemire ; and not to promote the welfare of 
any favored sections. 

Before South Carolina entered the Union, she was a free, sovereign, 
and independent State; when she entered the Union it was notly 
compulsion. ^She (in common with the old thirteen) freely gave, and 
specifically, certain of her sovereign powers to the federal government. 
All the rest she reserved to herself. To the freemen of this State be- 
longed all her own citizens, subjects, and territory, all the royal and 
sovereign powers and prerogatives, that kings, emperors, or any other 
mere human rulers, ever rightfully had, or could have in civil and 
supreme political government and dominion. The citizens were kings 
and subjects, rulers and people, each sustaining in his own personal 
double character, that of ruler and that of subject. As rulers they 
were bound by the high obligations of morality and honor to help each 
other unto death, in maintaining their royal prerogatives and rights as 



sovereigns. 



Suppose the States, instead of having been republics, had been king- 
doms, and the kings, instead of the States, had made the federal consti- 
tution and government. Think you a king worthy of the office would 
have submitted to the decree of a coalition of the kings, which usurped 
his right to govern his own people ? or taxed them without warrant of 
constitutional law ? or deprived him of his title to the federal domain ? 
11 



« . 



162 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

And if the same regal dominion and sovereignty is in citizen freemen 
themselves ; should they not be as jealous of their rights, honor, and 
independence, and as prompt to defend them as a king would have done ? 
If the most precious and honorable temporal inheritance is committed 
to the heirs themselves, surely if they are worthy of their birth-right 
they will not profanely sell it for a mess of pottage. If they are not 
capable of apprcciatiug the value of regal and sovereign prerogatives, 
they still need kings, or emperors, as tutors, governors, judges, and 
defenders ; and are as yet unht for the royal law of liberty. 

The rights and obligations of individuals as subjects of the general 
government, are the topics which have mainly engrossed the attention 
of the rulers and the courts of the federal union. Lawyers have studied 
the constitution mainly in its relations to the suljects of federal law. 
But statesmen like Mr. Calhoun have studied the history, genius, and 
principles of our federal system in reference to the rights of the States, 
and the people of the States as rulers ; the sovereign rights and moral 
and political duties of the makers of the constitution, the creators and 
lawgivers of Congress itself. Lawyers, by professional training, practice, 
and habits, are apt to take a purely legal view of the constitution ; and 
their reverence for precedents, their *' stare decisis," their habits of 
thought, reasoning, and juc'gment, veil from their eyes the truth and 
glory of the sovereign prerogatives which belong to the States and the 
people. 

In religion, a man of a legal spirit, who looks only to his personal re- 
lation to law as its subject, can never see the glory of the gospel which 
reveals the sovereignty, wisdom, justice, truth and mercy of the creator 
and lawgiver, in the person of the supreme Lord Himself, the son of 
man and the son of God. So in politics a man whose habits of mind 
are legal ; who ponders upon the subjects of law and their relations to 
it; cannot see the sovereignty, righteousness, and imperial dominion, 
which history and the constitution reveal to be in, and of right to belong 
to, the States, and the jjeoj^le of the States, as the lawful heirs of all the 
royal and imperial powers and prerogatives which king and parliament 
had over the colonies before the revolutionary war. 

We have had in the federal government, unfortunately, too many 
lawyers, and too much law, too many soldiers and too much military 
despotism, too few statesmen and political prophets like Mr. Calhoun, 
to preach the political gospel to the people, and to defend the perfect 
law of their sovereign liberties. 

The rights of the States can never be defended by federal or national 
parties. The past had proved that position to a demonstration. These 



coit's eulogy. 163 

rights must be maintained by the States themselves, or their own people, 
where rights, honors, or liberties may be invaded by federal usurpation. 
If they do not understand or are not willing to maintain them, if need 
be, by the sword, they are unworthy of them; and their inheritance will 
be taken from them, and given to a people more worthy than they. 

Viewing matters in this light, Mr. Calhoun looked upon the Amer- 
ican System as a policy of sheer usurpation and plunder ; and upon all 
Congressional enactments made under its auspices, as without any war- 
rant of power from the federal constitution ; and as simply and abso- 
lutely void ; without any civil, political or moral validity ; not laws but 
impositions ; and that the virtue and patriotism of our citizens was 
manifested, in coming together in convention, and in declaring, in their 
royal and sovereign capacity, thcti(; truths, and in thus nullifying these 
pretended laws. 

I know it is said to bo the duty of the citizens to bow to the enact- 
ments of Congress, and (if their constitutional validity is questioned) to 
await the decision of the Supreme Court. This we admit to be true of 
the private citizen, and his affairs, as the suhjects of law. But we are 
speaking of the arm of a sovereign State, and of her citizens in conven- 
tion, in their capacity of sovereign rulers ; of tlieir riylit to stretch forth 
the arm of the State to defend her own sovereignty, which she has 
never granted to all Congress together, but which is usurped by a coa- 
lition of sectional majorities ; of the right of a State to he a State, and 
to defend her own people from the venality, rapacity and ambition of a 
ruling faction in the federal government. If there is any such attri- 
bute as sovereignty rightfully belonging to a State ; if there be one, a 
single right, in its nature sovereign ; then no other power on earth may 
lawfully dictate to her when and how to use it. If it be usurped or its 
free exercise obstructed, by the federal government (and it cannot be 
denied that such a thing may happen) and there be no constitutional 
mode for a peaceful redress, then the State has a sovereign right (re- 
sponsible for its exercise only to heaven) to draw the sword in her own 
defence; for to affirm that she has a right of an imperial sovereign 
nature, and no lawful mode by which to exercise such a high power, or 
to resist its infringement, is to deny the power itself. It is to put the 
State, in a matter in which she is admitted to have liberty, under the 
judges or governors, in that very thing wherein, if she bows to their 
authority, she must ipso facto renounce her own liberty. 

Col. Drayton, a member of the House of Representatives from South 
Carolina, moved in his place, to amend the preamble of the tariff law, 
so that it might tell the truth on its face ; he moved to declare in the 



164 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

preamble the real objects of the law; that it was not merely to raise a 
revenue for the public service, (as it had been framed to read) a power 
all admit Congress have a right to exercise; but also to state that a 
substantive object of the enactment, was to protect domestic mamifac- 
titi-cs. His avowed object was to obtain the judgment of the Supreme 
Court, as a peaceful and constitutional arbiter, upon the question of the 
ri'ffht of Congress to pass such a law. But the sectional majority rejected 
his amendment, and thus refused the opponents of the measure the pro- 
tection of that Court, which was ordained by the constitution for that 
very end. That Court could not, in deciding upon the constitutionality 
of a law of the federal legislature, go out of the preamble for the motives 
and objects of the law. They were shut up to the record. Thus the 
same sectional majority that imposed their policy on the peojile barred 
the door of their access to the Supreme Court, bent (according to the 
universal instinct of power) upon having things their own chosen way ; 
and making their mere will and good pleasure stand for law to their 
fellow citizens. 

It was at this juncture that Mr. Calhoun threw himself, and his 
State went with him, and fell in the gap that had been made in the 
mountains of the constitution, to save it from ruin ; to preserve the 
federal Union ; to protect the people of this State from usurpation and 
robbery, and to maintain the cause of political liberty, and public justice, 
against the absolute domination of a sectional popular majority. 

And here it may be pertinent to pause, and consider the height and 
length and depth of the principles of political liberty and law involved 
in that conflict. 

Liberty, political and religious, is an honor, dignity and blessing, that 
all men are not capable of appreciating, enjoying and defending. It 
cannot be strictly a personal inheritance, because a certain degree of 
virtue, intelligence and heroism are necessary to comprehend its value, 
and keep it as a possession. The moral nature of man is so sensual, 
slothful and brutish, that a people in its bondage, where conscious 
wants are merely personal, sensual, and physical, are incapable of po- 
litical and religious liberty. Thus when the Lord stretched forth his 
arm to deliver Israel from the bondage of Pharoah, the people fainted 
under the moral and rational discipline that was necessary to qualify 
them for a national and civil liberty under the constitution and laws of 
Moses. Their very souls loathed and abhorred -a. llherty of lato ; that 
demanded self-denials and self-sacrifices. They longed for the yoke of 
Egypt again ; that after their daily tasks were done, they might sit 
down by the flesh pots, and indulge their personal ease and sensual pro- 



coit's eulogy. 165 

pensities. It is so naturally with all people. None but an intelligent, 
virtuous and higli-spiritcd race, rightly value this treasure. Cornipt or 
selfish men, if they have a sensual or personal liberty, are on this point 
content. To offer them the gift of moral, religious or political liberty 
is like, "casting pearls before swine." They can see no more beauty 
or value in these treasures of the spirit, than a mule can discern of wis- 
dom in the proverbs of Solomon. 

And here we would remark, that the nature of the virtue and intelli- 
gence of which we speak, is the knowledge and right appreciation of 
the high concerns of law, morality and politics. A people may be able 
to read and write ; be skilled in the ornamental and useful arts, flourish 
in commerce and manufactures; abound in polite literature, be adorned 
with the refinements, and revel in the luxuries of wealth, and of the 
highest civilization, and yet in their political characters be as tame, 
obsequious, and servile, as the courtiers and poets, the artists, orators 
and historians who flourished in the palaces of Augustus; and not only 
may they be politically degraded, but morally and religiously they may 
be the "vilest, meanest, basest of mankind." 

Again. They take a very defective view of our Inheritance of civil, 
political and religious liberties, who regard them mainly as the trophies 
of our revolutionary war. To say nothing of the holy men of old, and 
prophets in Israel, and apostles to the nations, who by their examples 
teach us to die, if need be, in the defence of spiritual freedom, and to 
maintain a good confession. To say nothing of the galaxy of heroes, 
statesmen and martyrs of other lands, and former ages ; who have la- 
bored, suffered and died to win this crown of glory ! consider the sacri- 
fices made by our own ancestors in Church and State. A great sum 
did our fathers pay for these liberties, though we were free born* 
Magna charta, the bill of rights, the habeas corpus, the rebellion, the 
revolution in England, are epochs in British history marking the pro- 
gress of liberty in the State. And what treasures of experience and 
wisdom, truth and justice, have we inherited in the "common law," 
and " law of parliament" of England. 

In the Church, to go back no further than the epoch of the great 
reformation in the fifteenth century; mark the sacrifices and martyr- 
doms of the millions in Christendom, who to maintain the religious 
freedom of man from the dominion of man ; men and women (of whom 
this world is not worthy) choosing rather to die in the liberty of the 
gospel; "that they might obtain a better resurrection" than save their 
bodies alive by sacrificing that priceless jewel of the soul. 

In the State, the conflict has been between the claims of royal pre- 



166 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

rogative, and the civil and political rights of the people. In the Church 
the struggle was mainly between the assumptions of the Hierarchy, of 
divine authority, to lord it over the consciences of men, and the natural, 
moral and religious duty and liberty, of every man in matters of con- 
science and religion ; to bow personally to the supreme authority of his 
Creator, Law-giver and Judge; free from restraint or responsibility to 
any mere creature or power under heaven; provided, in the use of this 
liberty he do not interfere with the equal duties and liberties of others, 
nor violate the civil laws in reference to civil things. In our political 
and religious liberties, we have a venerable and awful communion with 
all that was holy and noble in mankind that has passed away; and if 
not deaf to the voice of history, and dead to the most sacred impulses of 
the soul, we will not be insensible to the honor, the danger and the 
responsibility of keeping pure and unsullied, the spiritual and regal 
treasures of our birthright. The beauty and excellence of our political 
constitution consists mainly in this ; that it emancipates the Church 
from the bondage of the State (a condition of subjection in which the 
Protestant Churches of Europe are,) and it also emancipates the State 
and people from the bondage of the Church (a yoke which Roman 
Catholic countries have more or less to bear.) But happily the-good- 
ness of the Lord, in overruling the builders when laying the foundation 
of our civil, political, and religious liberties, has bequeathed to us a lib- 
erty from both yokes of bondage. The civil power in our land has no 
spiritual jurisdiction; and the ecclesiastical power has no civil authority 
or sanction. (I ask your attention to these observations as I shall ad- 
vert to these principles in an important bearing hereafter.) 

A peculiar glory of our federal constitution- is that it is a icritten com- 
pact. "Thus and thus it is written." " How readest thou ?" Here 
will be found the fire and the power of truth, for the hands of every 
faithful generation, to burn up and consume the chaff and rubbish ; 
which may at any time cover and hide the truth and majesty of the 
supreme law of the land; whether these impositions be the glosses of 
vain and ambitious statesmen, federal laws, traditions or usages, or fed- 
ei'al adjudications. 

Federal laws and judicatures are the defences of the citizens as the 
subjects of laws. But the Sovereign States, and their people, the crea- 
tors of the constitution, the makers and lawgivers of Congress (in every 
matter touching their own sovereignty, or royal prerogative) are their 
own lawgivers, judges and rulers, and must be, while a vestige of sove- 
reignty remains in them; "quoad hoc" they cannot be under "tutors 
and governors." 



coit's eulogy. 1G7 

Our constitutiou iu politics, like the standard of our faith and prac- 
tice in religion and morals, our fundamental law, is ivritten; and so 
plain that any honest citizen may hear or read and understand for 
himself; "^the wayfaring man though a fool need not err therein." 

Whether the federal government have a right or warrant from the 
written constitution, for the enactment of a law, may be the question ; 
and the humblest citizen of this country has the right, and it may be 
his duty, to put the question in reference to some enactment of Con- 
gress. ''By what authority doest thou these things, and who gave thee 
this authority?" Our constitution is not a matter of history and tradi- 
tion, like the constitution of England and the common law. It 
requires not the oracles of the crown, nor the learned adepts of the 
temple, to tell us tvhat it is. For thus and thus it is written, and thus 
and thus it must be. All who can read, may read for themselves, and 
all who can hear, may hear for themselves; and all must at last judge 
and act for themselves, or in this momentous affair renounce their 
mental and moral freedom. 

Firmly convinced of the truth of these principles, Mr. Calhoun 
counseled Jiis State to act upon them; to fallback upon the written 
constitution; to read and understand her own rights, and then to defend 
them. To shield herself from the ruinous effects of the sectional coali- 
tions of the east and west; which not only plundered her people of 
their property, but what was of far higher moment, abolished the fede- 
ral constitution, dissolved the federal Union, and practically reduced 
the South to the political degradation of worse than colonial depen- 
dence. 

At this juncture of public affairs, the people of South Carolina met 
in convention, and acting upon the great political principles which we 
have endeavored to delineate, they declared and proclaimed the tariff 
laws unconstitutional, and therefore null and void and of no force or 
efficacy in South Carolina; and to defend and maintain their position 
they were obliged to fall back upon their arms. 

Had the federal government opened the ear to the just and indig- 
nant complaints and protests that had gone up to "Washington from our 
whole people, there wovild have been no necessity of nullification ; and 
if that government had respected her sovereign rights in the nullifit-a- 
tiou of the tariff', she need not have girded on the sword, lint her 
petitions and remonstrances were unheeded by Congress, and her sove- 
reignty made a mockery and a jest. 

Mr. Calhoun, at the call of his State, resigned the office of Vice 
President, and took his place in the Senate, It was a most awful 



168 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

iiiomeut. Against tlie position of Soutli Carolina were arrayed both 
Houses of Congress; the solid North, East, and West; nearly the 
whole of the South; and all of one-third of her own citizens, who were 
in arms against her. (leneral Jackson was at the head of the federal 
army and navy, dealing out death to Calhoun and the nullifiers, "like 
an imperial Caesar." Scott, the federal general, was in Charleston. 
The federal troops and ships began to shew signs of life and motion — 
and the federal expresses were flying incessantly between Charleston 
and Washington. 

South Carolina stood firm. Her devoted sons in arms resolved to 
die rather than sacrifice the constitution, the federal Union, and the 
liberties of their country. 

Nothing but her own deep conviction, that her cause was the cause 
of truth, righteousness, independence, law, and honor, could have sus- 
tained the State. She literally stood alone. All her sister States 
frowned upon her. Public opinion, lapon the wings of the wind, was 
loud and distinct ; and had no words for her, but those of scorn, deri- 
sion, and reproaches; shame! ruin I disunion! treason I That crisis 
can never be forgotten by those who then lived. 

The State troops were standing in the tracks they had made from 
their feet; enrolled, armed, equipped and ready for battle, "facing 
their own music," trembling for their country; but firm as rocks them- 
selves. Then was the time when father was arrayed against son, and 
brother against brother in arms; when our women and little ones turned 
pale; when our Christians fasted and prayed; when "our rich men 
looked sad;" and when none among iis but "villains danced and 
played." 

The cause of the State had doubtless unseen and powerful allies; and 
had federal lead or federal steel shed one drop of Palmetto blood, in 
this cause, thousands of patriots and heroes would have rallied round 
the banner of State independence. In the North, in the East, and in 
the West, the Luthers and the Chathams would have prayed or have 
pleaded for our cause; their Hampdens and their Cromwells would 
have been fighting with our armies. 

The cause in which South Carolina drew her sword was not a narrow, 
sectional interest; she followed not the leaders in the sacred cause of 
political and constitutional freedom, "for the loaves and the fishes," 
but for the love of tnith, justice, independence and honor. To submit 
to an arbitrary dominion, having no moral, civil or political authority; 
to bow the neck to such a master, is the very essence of political 
slavery; and that was the naked ground on which South Carolina took 



coit's eulogy. 169 

her position in nullification. At that juncture the spirit of true liberty 
seemed to have abandoned most of the people in the United States, 
while the enemies were hosts. IMany amonp; us, like the servant of the 
prophet, wore ready to cry in dismay, "alas, my master, how shall we 
do ?" Had their eyes been opened, they too might have seen the 
chariots and the horsemen that were round about our political Elisha, 
and have known that "they that were with us, were more than they 
that were against us," 2 Kings, vi : 13-18. Not a State in this Union 
but some of her gallant and heroic sons pledged their lives in the cause 
of South Carolina ; their names were written upon the scroll of honor, 
among the archives of the State, and will go down as a refreshing per- 
fume and a memorial to posterity. 

Mr. Calhoun was, in the Senate, regarded by all the world as the 
false prophet and rebel spirit, whose influence at home had brought his 
own State into a position of imminent peril and of certain discomfiture. 
He knew mankind would hold him morally responsible for the issue. 
Yet, there he stood erect, fearless, calmly facing a "frowning world;" 
upholding the pillars of the constitution, determined if that perished 
to fall with the liberties of his country. 

We will pass over his noble speech on "the Force Bill." We will 
here forget all human agency, and recognize the mercy of an overrulino- 
Providence, at this instant of time, in opening the ears of our federal 
rulers, to hearken to the small voice of truth, honor, justice and inde- 
pendence. A compromise was proposed, and the obnoxious tariff law 
devoted to a gradual death ; the majesty of the constitution was vindi- 
cated; the doctrine of the supremacy of popular majorities formed by 
sectional coalitions received a check; and the American System, which 
had already received many grievous wounds, seemed now about to be 
consigned to the history of past impositions. 

A reformation in the legislative government of the federal Union 
commenced with the restoration of the constitution. 

The reserved rights of the States, their proper sovereignty, and their 
federal relations as equals in the Union and by the constitution, began 
to be recognized and respected. 

Several years now rolled on; and we again hear the bruit of war. 
General Scott is upon the British boundaries; there are skirmishes 
among the border men; the boundary line is disputed; the people on 
both sides inflamed and in arms. The mind of the North becomes 
greatly excited; and diplomatic intercourse with England threatening. 
The honor and dignity of the British crown are touched, and the whole 
power of that empire is in battle array. Mr. Webster is in the Depart- 



170 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

meut of State, anxious for a peaceful aud honorable adjustment of tho 
controversy, but the Senate is chafed, sullen and doubtful. Mr. Cal- 
houn is consulted by the cabinet, whether he will support their policy. 
He consents — and, with all his powers, vindicates the justice and 
equity of the Ashburtou treaty. It is done. The calamities of a war are 
arrested, and the honor, peace aud interest of the country maintained. 

Again. When Secretary of State in Mr. Tyler's cabinet, it is ad- 
mitted on all hands, that the consummate ability, sleepless vigilance, 
and prompt decisive conduct of Mr. Calhoun, defeated the wiles of 
British diplomacy, in reference to the republic of Texas; annexed that 
vast and valuable country to this federal Union, and in such a way and 
on such terms and conditions, as manifested a forecast and wisdom, the 
happy issues of which upon this whole country, and especially upon the 
South, will never be duly estimated by the present generation. 

Again. Mr. Calhoun is at home, on his plantation, a private 
citizen. Mr. Polk is President, the political firmament is overcast with 
dark and threatening clouds; and the tones of distant thunder are 
heard muttering the sounds of war over the federal capital. When dis- 
tinctly heard the cry is 'fifty four forty or fight:' Our whole people 
are aroused. The universal shout from the great West is for biittle; 
her members in the Senate and House are blowing loud the war trumpet. 
The voice of J. Q. Adams is ferocious, pouring out threatenings and 
defiance to England. The war policy is openly avowed by the admin- 
istration, who have a fixed majority in both wings of the Capitol. The 
President, in his message, made his mark for the entirety of the Oregon 
treaty. The administration was committed. The whigs, a weak mi- 
nority, dispirited and desponding sat appalled ! 

At the call of his country Mr. Calhoun left the repose of home, 
and appeared again in the arena in the Senate. His very presence 
there inspired hope and confidence in the drooping spirits of his country- 
men. The vast body of the people were not disposed for war, in a 
controversy for the doubtful title to a portion of territory ; where merely 
the value of land was concerned, if there were nothing that touched our 
independence or honor. 

Mr. Calhoun comprehended the whole case. The day after his 
arrival in Washington, he gave notice that he would oppose an appeal 
to arms. He denounced the violent excitement among our federal 
rulers on the subject, as absolute madness. He rolled back the angry 
billows of strife ; calmed the troubled waters ; maintained the peace 
aud honor of the country ; and put the question of the Oregon boundary 
in a train for an amicable and definite settlement. 



coit's eulogy. 1 71 

Long, long, liad Mr. Caliioun, with his prophetic political sagacity, 
foreseen and foretold the coming of the Abolition Philistines that are 
now upon us ; and when our State threw herself in the gap of the 
constitution, which the overflowing waters of the American system had 
made, it was hoped by him that the repairing of that breach would be 
strong enough to resist this worse than savage invasion. 

The moral right of domestic government over slaves, stands precisely 
upon the same foundation as the moral right of civil and parental 
government. It rests upon the Divine authority, the only moral basis 
for the dominion of man over man. The form of political government 
is of human authority merely. The thing itself has the Divine sanction. 
In form it may be absolute or limited monarchy, elective or hereditary ; 
it may be a republic, au oligarchy, a democracy ; or it may be of a 
composite form, partaking of the peculiar features of any or all the 
preceding, as our own perhaps does. But where a government, under 
any of these political forms, exists " de /ac(o," there are the rulers and 
the subjects, the governors and the governed ; and the relative moral 
obligations of the rulers and people grow historically and actually out of 
this civil relation. "What these moral obligations are respectively, it is 
one of the objects of the Christian religion to teach and enforce by 
spiritual sanctions. Christian men, whether rulers or subjects, learn 
their moral duties from the written word of the Lord. 77)nf teaches 
them to " render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's." 

Good citizens Avho know and feel not the obligations and liberty of 
the Gospel, yet acknowledge themselves bound in conscience and honor, 
to bow to the authority and supremacy of the constitution and laws of 
their country ; among which are the solemn national covenants and 
treaties. They avow and feel the force of the moral bonds of truth, 
justice, equity, and honor. It was the distinctive feature in the philo- 
sophy of the celebrated Hobbes, ihat the civil law was the onlt/ law for 
conscience ; that it was the moral law. 

Now a law, moral, civil, or political, in its true definition, (as is its 
essence and nature,) is a rule of one who is a superior by nature or by 
office, to the subject of law ; and to which rule, the inferior or subject 
is bound, in conscience, (in moral law) to conform. 

It is, therefore, of amazing import to the peace, liberties, and welfare 
of our country, what are the moral principles that govern the consciences 
of our rulers and people in the discharge of their civil and political 
duties. 

Notwithstanding the number of moral and political heresies that have 
agitated the North and East for the last thirty years ; notwithstanding 



172 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN- 

tlie rotten tlieology that to a eousiderable extent has triumphed, and 
which, unless repented of, and something better obtained, will destroy 
the reign of all law, liberty, and morals ; yet we beliere the moral sen- 
timents openly avowed by Mr. Seward in the Senate, have caused many 
among his own people to pause and consider. The poison of the moral 
serpent is now conspicuous ; the liar and the murderer is no longer hid 
within the skin of a reptile. The confession of the high priest, wit- 
nesses and avows to the world that the old serpent the devil, the god of 
this world, who reigns in the hearts of the children of disobedience, is 
the deity they worship. The false prophet is unveiled, and abolitionism, 
in its moral, civil, and political aspects, is developed. The s\ibtlety, 
falsehood, ambition, and treachery, by which this serpent wormed its 
way to the floor of Congress, is characteristic of the spirit who animates 
the system. And as to the position of its federal champion, after his 
avowal that no laws or oaths would bind him in opposition to the supreme 
authority of his own conscience, (the man within his breast,) in my 
humble opinion he should have been promptly impeached or expelled 
from the Senate. And if something be not done by the Senate or the 
Legislature of his own State, publicly to brand his moral position with 
infamy, it will be a foul blot on the moral character of our people. 

The States and the people of this country, in their fundamental law, 
require of Senators the religious security of an oath, that they will ad- 
minister the government, and enact laws according and in obedience to 
the written constitution. And when a Senator rises in his place, avows 
his own shame, and confesses himself to be the moral monster, whom 
that oath and that constitution cannot bind, ^^ ijym facto'' he does 
religiously and politically cut his own throat; and being in this sense a 
"/eZo de se," he can be " dejure " no civil ruler. A man may say his 
conscience is his own supreme law, that it is paramount to any other 
law, divine or human ; yet, if such a wild beast invades the abodes of 
civilized men, and his conscience prompts him to steal or murder, surely 
it is most just that he should be whipped or hung. But when a ruler 
over 20,000,000 of his civil and political equals, proclaims that the 
dictates of his conscience shall be the law for them, the supreme law of 
legislation for a whole people, such a man is altogether a prodigy. 

The conscience of abolitionism professes to be tender, sacred, and 
supreme. This would be no concern of the public, if such a conscience 
would stay at home and limit its dominion to its own subjects and 
owners ; but it is unbounded in its imperial aspiration, and aims to 
govern the whole country. Its present mission is to break all the cords 
of Divine, constitutional, civil, and domestic law, by the power of which 



coit's eulogy. 173 

the servants of this country are kept in their subordination in our system. 
It is a savage, unjast, unnatural, diabolical warfare upon our Southern 
States. In this crusade, the dictates of their consciences have de- 
manded of abolitionists all manner of coalitions with political parties of 
any and every creed, that their own Aaron and Moses might obtain 
priestly and political dominion in the civil government of this country. 
To achieve this purpose that conscience dictates to its subjects, to take 
the solemn oath required by the constitution ; to maintain and govern 
according to that fundamental law ; and to defend the South from 
foreign invasion and domestic violence : and the same conscience dic- 
tates to these same abolitionists, after they become sworn rulers, to 
disregard the constitution ; to become foreign invaders, and to ferment 
domestic insurrections at the South themselves ; to dissolve the Federal 
Union, and to destroy the liberty of ourselves and of our posterity. 

A conscience where moral dictates demand oaths to be taken, to the 
very end that they may be broken, is the conscience that, with its fore- 
head of brass, rises and denounces the Southern people for immorality ; 
for governing their own servants ; keeping their own compromises, 
covenants, and oaths ; for maintaining the integrity and supremacy of 
the federal constitution, the sanctity of law, and the freedom and equality 
of those who already are free and equal. 

That a vile faction, with such moral and political principles, should 
have had in their grasp, for one moment, the political power of the 
North, East, and West in Congress, is a startling fact that causes the 
most gloomy and desponding forebodings. 

The sectional coalitions on the tariffs and on abolitionism, are unmis- 
takeable demonstrations that the written constitution, the faith of 
federal covenants, and the oaths of political rulers, are muniments too 
feeble to keep out the rapacious reign of Mammon, and the fanatical 
empire of the monk and the crusader. " Thieves do break in and steal," 
and the treasures of our popular liberties and State rights are yet ex. 
posed as a prey to political wolves, in sheep's or in dog's clothing. 
Tlierefore it is that Mr. Calhoun, with his dying breath, demanded of 
all the people, and of all the States, further and stronger bulwarks in 
the constitution for the South ; not further grants or gifts of what we 
have not already ; not a new bargain, but better and further security, 
that what is due us by the bond signed, sealed, and delivered by them 
all, be honestly paid. Thsit justice be done before we listen a moment 
to any talk of compromises. The things that touch a people's honor 
and independence, do not admit of compromise. That is now the true 
issue and the momentous question before the people of this country. 



174 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

The cause of the South is now vastly stronger than when South 
Carolina alone confronted the physical power of the federal government, 
and achieved a great moral victory for the constitution, laws, and 
liberties of the whole country. All the legal objections against the 
Tariif of 1828, lay with their full force against the Wilmot Proviso, 
and against any other measure or policy, whatever may be its name or 
form, but the object of which may be to efiect substantially what was 
the aim, scope, and end of the Proviso, to wit : to degrade the Southern 
States, to put them under the ban, to deny to them the dignity and 
e({uality due to the other States in the Federal Union, and to rob them 
of all share in the possession of the common federal territories. These 
are the monstrous propositions of the present coalition of the North, 
East, and West, against the equal rights and liberties of the South. 
And what aggravates the injustice and insult of such a policy is, that 
our masters make it with them a matter of conscience ! 

Nothing but a strong leaven of Luciferiau morality could possibly 
have so polluted and inflamed the consciences of the people in these 
sections. Old time robbers and pirates, though they may have had 
some plaster for their consciences, were not wont to plead the authority 
of conscience in defence of their enterprises ; it was not a deep sense of 
moral obligation that constrained them to lay their violent hands upon 
the things that were their neighbors' ; it was their love of plunder. 
With our disinterested and benevolent rulers, it is the mere love of the 
caption. They coolly propose to take all our inheritance in the political 
family, and (not seize it exclusively for their own use,) but (their 
Southern brethren excepted) to give it as a benevolence, to any of the 
families of the whole world, who choose to come and take possession ! 

It may well be asked by icliat autlwrity do they propose to do these 
things ? The answer is, by the authority of public opinion at the north, 
east and west; by the sanction of the moral sentiment of a "consider- 
able portion of mankind;" and by the power of the majority. The 
breath of the answer blows away every vestige of the Federal Constitu- 
tion ; and if the scheme were consummated, it would be a moral disso- 
lution of the Federal Union. 

It seems to be the received doctrine of the dominant majority, that if 
a given ];)ower is granted to he in Congress, that a majority of both 
houses have the moral right to use that power as they please. That 
instead of being bound by the highest obligations known among men, in 
the fear of Grod, in good faith, in tnith, justice and equity, to use the 
high powers committed to their trust, for the common welfare of all 
the people and States who are subject to the federal government, that 



COIT S EULOGY. 175 

there is no moral restraint to their own wills or rather to the arbitrary 
wills and absolute domination of those whom our federal rulers arc 
pleased to regard as their peculiar constituents. In other words, and 
briefly, that the will of the majority is the law for the minority. Leg- 
islation according to this doctrine would not be usurpation, but it would 
be the essence of tyranny — an oppression which, if it do not justify so 
prompt and decided a resistance, must be hrmly and eftectually repelled, 
or nothing of constitutional or legal justice is left us, but the mockery 
of the name and the form. Those of you who have read with care the 
late Congressional debates, must have been struck with astonishment 
at the avowal of the crude and arbitrary doctrines of some of our federal 
rulers. The manner in which they refer to the powers of Congress, 
over the District of Columbia, the dock-yards, forts, arsenals, &c., is an 
instance in point. The tendency to absolute domination is most appa- 
rent in the history of the "Wilmot" and its substitutes. Our federal 
masters twist the sci-ew of oppression to the last point of practical endu- 
rance; they watch their victim, and tighten or relax their hold, as the 
patient manifests symptoms of submission or resistance ; as though their 
rigldfid power extended to a degree of oppression and insult — a hair- 
breadth short of the point of armed opposition, or^the dissolution of the 
Union. "By ??ie," saith the Lord, " Kings rule, and Princes decree 
justice." The political powers our federal rulers do have, surely they 
are under moral obligations to use Justly. 

When that power which actually reigns in Congress, is a fixed major- 
ity, made up of sectional coalitions ; and when the direction of that 
power is dictated by public opinion, (a wind blowing from the same sec- 
tions,) then all the moral, legal and constitutional bonds of the Federal 
Government and Union, are virtually dissolved, and the government 
becomes one of mere sufferance on the part of the States and people ; 
and we, the citizens of this country, have no just government over us 
but that of our own State. If the type of oppression be usurpation or 
tyranny, in either case, it will be necessary to consider and weigh well 
the condition of affairs, that we may keep our consciences clear; and 
whether we live or die, that we be found in the path of constitutional, 
civil and moral law, in the way of our dufi/. 

As all our present troubles spring from the slavery and majority ques- 
tions, and as the moral character of slavery is at the root of that matter, 
it may be pertinent to consider for a moment that question ; and also 
what is the real value and weight, politically and morally, of any nu- 
merical majority in our federal legislative government. 

History, sacred and profane, testifies to the existence of slavery from 



17G THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

the earliest antiquity. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were slaveholders. 
The Jews, Eoyptians, Grreeks and Romans all had the institution of 
slavery among them, and neither sacred nor profane history records the 
sentiment or judgment of moral evil or sin in the institution. Its law- 
fulness, or the moral riylit of this form of human government, has not 
been called in question among mankind in Church or State, till this 
generation. Neither Moses nor the prophets; neither our Lord nor 
his Apostles, though they were living among masters and slaves, ever 
denounced the institution as a moral evil. Neither the African, Asiatic, 
Greek or Roman Churches, ever denounced it, though it was an institu- 
tion in the midst of them all. No Protestant Church has ever con- 
demned it; no decrees of Ecclesiastical councils, and no traditions of 
the Church, have ever condemned it as a moral evil. 

The fii'st notice I can find in history of abolition doctrine, is just one 
hundred years ago. In 1750, John Woolman and Anthony Benezet, 
two quakers at the north, seemed fully possessed of the abolition spirit, 
and in 1754 the Friends or Quakers in America, abolished slavery in 
their communion, and excommunicated slave-holders ; up to that epoch 
the Friends had not a knowledge of the moral evil of slavery. But as 
they are a sect who avow the authority of the " inward light," in mat- 
ters of morals and religion ; and as they did not profess to have made 
their discovery from the things written in Scripture, Christian denomi- 
nations who made the tvritten word of God their only rule of faith and 
morals, paid no attention to the dreams of the Quakers. 

About forty years from the time of the Apostleship of Woolman and 
Benezet, Clarkson and Wilberforce began to declaim in England against 
the slave trade. That (notice) is only about sixty years ago. Mr. Wil- 
berforce first introduced this subject into the Imperial Parliament in 
1787. He then received no favor, but that man annually renewed his 
motion for seventeen years, till in 1804 the African slave trade was 
abolished by the British Parliament. During those years Wilberforce, 
Clarkson, and the abolitionists were agitating the Churches and the 
country with their schemes. The Africans were then, and are yet, a 
people heathen, ^nd exceedingly degraded for heathen. They lived 
mostly in little tribes, often at war, and mutually making slaves of their 
captives ; so that in Africa they exist ( the great body of them) in a con- 
dition of slavery to the head men or Kings of these petty African king- 
doms. The Portuguese and Spaniards first commenced this trade, with 
the view to the cultivation of their American colonies. The English 
followed their lead. The slaves were bought by the European traders 
of their masters in Africa. Whatever may be said of the moral char- 



COIT S EULOGY. 177 

acter of that traffic, its efiects have been providentially overruled for 
good to the descendants of the imported Africans. They have been 
raised from heathenism, idolatry, (some of them from cannibalism,) 
from extreme degradation and wretchedness, and from davery to men 
as degraded and vile, to a position where they inherit and enjoy more 
physical, social, moral and religious blessings, than the poor of any 
Christian nation in the world. 

The British having, themselves, abolished the slave trade, began to 
exert their influence with all other nations to abolish the trade also. 
The penalty of their laws was, first, a fine ; then the traffic was declared 
a felony ; then piracy, with the death-penalty. British diplomacy has 
kept agitating ail the Cabinets in Christendom, till nearly all have 
united in pronouncing this traffic a crime against the laws of all civili- 
zed nations. The fleets of the nations, (our own not excepted,) with 
the British in the lead, have for years, at an immense cost of life and 
money, been employed upon the African coast to break up and totally 
destroy this ti'ade. 

Formerly, when the traffic was lawful, and the traders fair and honest 
men, there was doubtless much cmelty and suflfering connected with 
the business. But now, when none but pirates and desperadoes are 
willing to embark in the trade, the evils to the captives are greatly ag- 
gravated; and instead of suppressing the trade, it is carried on now to 
a greater extent, and under more cruel auspieies. than before Wilber- 
force began his agitation. 

Sir Fowell Buxton, a member of Parliament, and a leading abolitionist, 
in a report to the House of Commons, stated that it was an axiom at 
the Custom House, that no illicit trade could be suppressed, if its profits 
were equal to thirty per cent. That French, Spanish, Portuguese and 
American cruisers were incessantly engaged in the African slave trade. 
He affirms that 80,000 slaves are annually taken to Brazil ; 00,000 to 
Cuba; 10,000 to other places; that 150,000 are annually brought to 
the continent and islands of America; double. the number that were 
ever imported in any one year, before Wilberforce commenced his abo- 
lition measures. But the British Parliament have pushed their policy 
beyond the slave trade : 20,000,000 pounds sterling has Parliament 
appropriated to pay British subjects for their slaves, which the govern- 
ment have emancipated in the West Indies. Other European nations 
(instigated by the British,) have followed their example, and liberated 
the African slaves in their American colonies. British diplomacy; the 
British press, religious and secular; the British Churches, and abolition 
societies; the British statesmen, orators poets and literati ; the British 
12 



17!^ THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

people, have succeeded in inamtfachiring a public opinion among the 
Christian nations, that tlie institution of slavery is sinful, a dishonor 
and a blot to any country. It is an historical fact that the present 
moral sentiments and religious feelings of "a considerable portion of 
mankind," in reference to slavery, are of British manufacture. The 
people of this country at the north, at the east, and at the west, have 
been poisoned by this false and anti-christian morality ; the minds of our 
fellow-citizens in those sections, have become exceedingly inflamed 
against slavery ; and though there are there vast numbers of Christian 
people, who know the thing is not sinful, yet to a man they are, in their 
feelings and sympathies, opposed to the institution. They think it is a 
stigma upon the face of this whole country, in the eyes of the civilized 
world I 

If the British statesmen had wished a wedge to split asunder this 
country, and destroy the prosperity of a people whom they have dreaded 
more than any people on earth, as their rivals in commerce and manu- 
factures, they could not have contrived a more effective instument to 
accomplish such an object, than this British abolition morality. A 
people whom they never could subdue by their arms, they have con- 
(|uered by their moral machinery and manufacture, so that the people 
north, east and west, whom British cannon could not move, are now 
trembling like the leaves of the aspen, at the breath of British opinion ! 

It is necessary, therefore, for the South to defend herself before the 
whole world; and she falls back on the immoveable bulwarks of Scrip- 
ture, and vipon the moral sentiments of all mankind, in the Church 
and out of it, from the time of Abraham to the time of the Apostle- 
ship of John Woolman and Anthony Benezet. 

There have been at all times, (yet never so many as in modern times,) 
theories broached concerning the dignity of human nature, "the rights 
of man," liberty, equality, fraternity, &c., which, if true, would, by 
consequence, destroy the institution of slavery, and all other lawful do- 
minion of man over man. Wild theories abounded in the days of our 
revolution, and wilder still in that of the French, which injured the 
men of those generations, and whose malign influences are yet too much 
felt in our day. The world is now full of such cruelties, fooleries, and 
vain imaginations that deceive, hurt or ruin not a few. 

But we must leave dreamers and their fancies, and hearken to the 
Avord of God. 

Such is the condition of mankind, that all nations have among them 
the poor, "the hewers of wood and the drawers of water." "The 
poor (said Jesus) you have always with you." We know in the natu- 



ooit's eulogy. lyn 

ral, and in the spiritual, the body is not one member, but many. 1 Cor. 
xii : 14—27. We believe it should be so also in the politieal and social 
bodies; "and that the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of 
thee ; uor again the head to the foot, I have no need of thee." Toward 
the institution of slavery the Lord, from the time of Abraham, hath, 
in his wisdom and mercy, showed great favor. It is an establishment 
not merely for the benefit of the master, but a permanent house in the 
social system for the protection, support and comfort of the poor. 
Under the patriarchal, legal and Gospel dispensations, this institution of 
domestic government is among those "powers that arc ordained of 
God." Rom. xiii: 1. 

T. The covenant with Abraham expressly included children and slaves. 
Gen. xvii: 12-13. "He that is born in thy house, and he that is 
bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised." Thus with 
Abraham and the fathers, slavery was not merely tolerated, as on the 
footing of a mere sufferance, an error that was winked at, but it was a 
law ordained of the Lord. * 

II. So under Moses, in the time of the theocracy, the form of domes- 
tic government over slaves, the institution of slavery, was established 
by the divine lawgiver; and while hirelings were treated as heathen 
and strangers; while they had no interest in the family. Church or 
State, the slaves in Israel were protected, and had the blessings and 
securities of domestic, civil and ecclesiastical institutions, and an in- 
terest in the promises of the everlasting covenant. The hireling had a 
right to nothing, but the wages of his day. The slave had a moral and 
civil right for life, a birth-right, an inheritance of "bread to eat and 
raiment to put on." 

III. Under the Gospel, slavei'y was treated, by our Saviour, as an 
existing and lawful institution, and by his apostles he enforces the re- 
lative duties of masters and slaves; where that relation subsisted among 
his disciples. Thus, servants are commanded to be subject to their 
masters, with all fear, not only to "the good and gentle," but "also 
to the froward," for this is acceptable to God. 1 Pet. ii: 18-21. 
Here it is written down "in totidcin verbis" that this service "is 
acceptable to God." Eph. vi : 5-10. The rightful dominion of the 
master is also expressly written down. Masters give unto your ser- 
vants that which is just and equal, knowing that ijou also have a 
master in "Heaven." Col. iv: 1. Here Scripture recognises masters 
as such to be the servants of the Lord; and if we are in o\x.t master dom. 
His servants, who may lawfully, or safely, come between Him and us in 
this matter? "Who art thou that judgcst another's servant? to his 



180 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

own master lie standeth or falleth." James iv: 11-13; Kom. xiv: 4. 
Thus in all the forms of the Divine economy, in His providence over 
His people, under the patriarchal, legal, and Gospel dispensations, the 
institution of slavery has been sanctified by the Word of the Lord. 

The rightful dominion, dignity, and authority of the master is then 
plainly established by written Word of God. The master's office is a 
high and holy trust; to God must he give an account, like all other 
human rulers; and so must our servants, like all other subjects of 
human government, give an account of their obedience and fidelity. 

As to the execrations of abolitionists, they may see their features 
portrayed in Scripture, by the pen of apostles. In the epistle of Jude, 
in 2d. Pet. 2d chap, and also in 1st Timothy, 6th chap. 1 — 6 verses. 

Every one born a slave in this country has a moral and civil birth- 
right to food and clothing, care and support in sickness, and in old age. 
If the master becomes poor, and unable to do his duty, the arm of the 
law takes his servant and puts him into the hands of one abler to sup- 
port him. The poor of Europe^ and especially of England and Ireland ; 
the poor of the North, have no earthly inheritance ; many of them are 
thieves, vagabonds, idlers, many sick ; they are kept alive in public 
poor establishments ; in some countries at an enormous expense, which 
constitutes a heavy tax on the industry and thrift of the people. There 
are no idlers, vagabonds, drunkards, among our servants ; they are kept 
in their places, and made to work. 

The Lord who knoweth what is in man, and ueedeth not to be told 
that, in the pecuniary relation of slaves to owners, in the very article of 
^^ property in man," has given the slave a strong guarantee, from the 
injustice or violence of others abroad, and for good treatment at home. 
Thus Moses ordains, that if a man smites his own servant with a rod 
and kill him, yet if the servant live a day or two, the master shall not 
be punished, because the servant was "Ais money. '' That is the reason 
given by Moses why the master under such circumstances, shall go un- 
punished, because his servant was Ids money, therefore, no malice shall 
be presumed in the bosom of the owner against the life of his slave. 
Exod. xxi. 21. The Lord knoweth there are few things among men 
which they love more or handle more carefully than their own money. 
However provoked a man may have been with his servant, it is not to 
be presumed that he intended to kill him, because his servant is his 
own money. 

Slaves have no political rights to exercise, but like the women and 
children under the domestic, ecclesiastical, and civil laws, and rulers, 
like the passengers on board a ship, though not officers or seamen, 



coit's eulogy. 181 

tliougli tliey do not work the vessel of State, yet they enjoy the common 
pi'otection and securities of all on board. 

The dominion over a slave being bodily, founded in law, divine and 
human, there is no moral slavery in his condition. If he be a Christian 
man, he serves his master, not with a servile spirit, not as bowing to a 
fellow creature, who has no other right than physical power to rule over 
him ; but he renders obedience as to his ruler recognized by heaven ; 
he obeys as serving (lod and not man. He renders a hearty, willing 
obedience, out of a pure conscience, and conviction of moral duty. He 
has therefore moral and spiritual freedom; his soiil is free. Eph. vi. 
5 — 9. Col. iii. 22 — 25. When the body of Jesus stood bound before 
Pilate, his spirit was free ; for our great examplar bowed in obedience 
to the law of the land. John, xviii. 12, xix. 11. "When Paul's body 
wore a chain, his soul was free, for the word of God was not bound. 
2. Tim. ii, 9. Soldiei's and sailors in the army and navy are under a 
most absolute dominion ; obedience to which is wisely and justly secured 
by severe penalties. Offenders against the laws of their country, viola- 
tors of the rules and regulations of the public service, should be pun- 
ished, and degraded from the honorable profession of arms, and put to 
mean and servile employments ; they should not be kept upon the roll 
with men of obedient, noble, virtuous and patriotic spirits. 

It is the genius and tendency of abolitionism to abolish all punish- 
ments, the sanctions of law, to destroy all honors, authorities, pre- 
eminences, and dignities ; that it may obtain its own liberty, equality, 
fraternity ! To this end, every thing pertaining to law, justice, truth, 
honor and virtue must be abolished ; that nothing may remain but the 
'^ caput viori'uu77i" of a vile humanity. The service of men in the army 
and navy is lawful, therefore, good sailors and soldiers are free morally; 
under the most rigid discipline, their spirits are free in the service, and 
their duties are honorable, moral, useful, necessary. Should a sailor be 
seized and carried by violence on board a piratical xesael, and compelled 
to do service there, so long as absolute duress continued, there might be 
an actual, physical obedience. But a moral service there could not be; 
where there is no law there can be no moral obedience. 

The truth is, after all that has been said, written and sung about lib- 
erty, none but those whom the truth and Son of God hath set free, are 
free indeed; all others are the servants of corruption. John, viii. 31 — 
37. The real value of political liberty is in its being a protection in 
this woi'ld to men in the use and free enjoyment of moral and religious 
freedom. 

Nothing is more significant in the movements of vicious radicals, dis- 



182 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO OALHOUX. 

organizeris and revolutionists, than studiously to keep out of view the 
well established, fundamental, political and moral principles in the 
institutions of a people ; and striking at some real or imaginary griev- 
ances or abuses, instead of attempting in wisdom, patience and self- 
denial the work of reform ; to strike with their weapons the vital parts, 
and aim to destroy the whole framework of society. Thus the aboli- 
tionists, passing over the moral law written in the Scripture, the politi- 
cal law written in the constitution, and the civil law written in the stat- 
ute books of the States, as though these presented no barrier to their 
infamous crusade, are always parading the absurd dogmas in the pre- 
amble to the declaration of independence ; the private sentiments of 
Jefferson, Franklin and others; whose ideal theories of political philo- 
sophy and "the rights of man" are of no civil, moral or political value 
whatever. They are of no legal validity, never were and never will be, 
among any people who enjoy and value the blessings and securities of a 
constitutional and legal liberty, and a pure morality and religion. 

Mr. Webster, too, whose sentiments may be supposed to represent 
those of the sober North, denounces domestic slavery as "a great moral, 
civil, and political evil." What is moral evil but sin ? and what is sin 
but a trans2;ression of the moral law ? 1 John, iii. 4. Sin must be 
confessed and forsaken, or the sinner will never obtain mercy. Moral 
evil is a spiritual thing ; the knowledge of divine truth and obedience 
to the Grospel and law of God is the only salvation from it. But Mr. 
Webster himself admits that the institution in question is not against 
the moral law written in the Scriptures. Yet he imagines it is some- 
how against the qririt of the supreme lawgiver. But how can the 
subject of any ruler. Divine or human, know the will of his Lord, but 
\>y his oiim u'ord expressed ? iltat is the lav. The servant that turns 
away from the plain written law, the word of command, and chooses 
rather to follow the " devices, desires, and imaginations of his own 
heart," and to obey his own conjectures and dreams, will be beaten with 
many stripes. Mr. Webster ought to have known that this dodge was 
a mere abolition quibble. It is altogether unworthy of his mind, his 
heart, his position, and his character. He objects, too, (but feebly) 
that this domestic government over slaves, is founded in mere might, 
in the right of the strongest ; that physical power is its sanction ; that 
it is not like the kingdom the apostle preached ; very true ; doubtless 
the rulers in this form of human government are men and not gods. 
Masters of servants have like passions with JMr. Webster ; and if these 
objections commend themselves as valid to his conscience, or to his 
understanding, he should resign his commission as a federal ruler and 



COIT S EULOGY. 183 

go home ; and so should all other civil rulers over mankind, who enter- 
tain such oi3inions; for the sanction of all human governments /.s physi- 
cal force ^ in the last analysis it is the sword. 

In the moral argument, Mr. Webster's great understanding could 
grasp hold of no premises from which he could, with his logic, honestly 
travel to the conclusion he evidently wanted ; therefore, he took his 
conclusion for granted, upon the authority of public sentiment at the 
North. There was a perfect inanity of ethical truth, life, and virtue, in 
his position ; yet he took it, and in endeavoring to defend it, after a 
few faint spasms and gasping out a few feeble words about " loving 
kindness," " meekness," and '^ the apostle," he gave it up I and this 
great mental elephant, in the moral struggle, died the death of a mouse, 
under an exhausted receiver. 

Yet he abides by such a conclusion ! he knows the institution is not 
against civil law, for it is civil law that makes it. He knows it is not 
against political law, for the constitution sanctifies it, and yet he is not 
ashamed to stand up in his place, and to condemn the written law of 
God, the written law of one-half of the States in this Union, and the 
written law of the constitution of his country, and to affirm his judgment 
to be that they are all evils, great evils, for sustaining the domestic 
government of slavery in this country. True, he shelters himself behind 
the wall of moral sentiment at the North ; and the " relisious feelino-g 
of a considerable portion of mankind." Mr. "Webster should rather 
hearken to the voice of the apostle — " If thou judge the law, thou art 
not a doer of the law, but a judge." — James, iv. 11. 

When "the North and a considerable portion of mankind" are our 
lawgivers and judges, iii our domestic and State institutions, we will 
attend to their sentiments ; till then we stand or fall to our own master. 
The truth is, that the least leaven of this abolition morality, "leavens 
the whole lump," pollutes the purity of conscience, destroys moral and 
mental liberty ; the least taint of it, therefore, is a blight upon honor, 
candor, truth, justice, wisdom, freedom, and mercy. Mr. Webster will 
not vote the proviso, because climate and other physical laws will, in his 
opinion, prevent this institution from flourishing in any of the new 
territories of the Union ; but clearly intimates, were it not so, he should 
vote for the measure. In principle, then, Mr. Webster is an aboli- 
tionist ; policy only prevents his acting with them. It is amazing to 
me what such a man can do with his conscience, his oath, and with the 
constitution ! Ah, but, says 3Ir. Webster, public sentiment, both 
North and South, has changed very much since the adoption of the 
federal constitution — granted ; but has the written constitution of the 



184 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

ooiintrv chanced ? has tlie lav; of tlie land chane,ed '{ Do the unstable 
and changing winds of Northern opinion, nullify the laws and constitu- 
tion of this country ? 

Upon the whole, Mr. Webster has fallen back on a position far short 
of what public affairs demanded. In morals, however, Mr. Webster is 
far above and out of sight of such men as Mr. Seward. Mr. Webster 
feels bound in conscience and honor to keep the faith of federal treaties 
and federal covenants ; and, as a ruler, to do as he has sworn. 

The sentiments of these two men, probably, shadow forth those of the 
two great parties to which they belong, and which, combined with other 
similar elements, make up that "^)7t&?i:'c opinion " of which we hear so 
much, and which threatens to over-ride the laws and institutions of the 
country. • 

That opinion, expressed by the press, religious and secular, the voices 
of Legislatures, and in various other modes, a few months ago, could 
not merely have sanctioned, but absolutely demanded the adoption of 
the Wilmot Proviso. One of the ominous and threatening features of 
the abolition heresy is that its defenders have brought their religion 
with their idol into thQ political temple. 

If a single individual in any part of the United States were to be 
deprived of bodily liberty or property, on account of his religious opinions, 
moral sentiments, worship, or practice, that were not in violation of the 
laws of the land, the whole nation woiild rise as one man in his defence. 
The people understand the value of the constitution, as a defence to the 
bodies and property of individuals ; and yet so blind and insensible are 
they to the value of the constitution, in things pertaining to the moral 
principles of liberty, to State rights, and to the justice due to the 
sovereign people of the States, in their political relations, that the 
North, East, and West have formed a coalition to deprive all the Southern 
States of their entire inheritance in every part of federal territory, (the 
common property of all the States,) because of a difference in moral 
sentiment and practice, about the institution of slavery — an institution 
sanctioned by tlie laws of the Southern States, and by the supreme laws 
of the Federal Union, Liberty of conscience is virtually denied to the 
South upon the penalty of forfeiting their interests in the public domain. 
Had the Wilmot proviso (or the poison of its nature) been enacted 
into the form of a law, this thing would have been virtually " a bill of 
attainder," '' an ex post facto law," a law nullifying obligations and 
contracts of the constitution, a union of Church and State, a resurrection 
and the triumph of those principles which reigned in the " Star Cham- 
ber," and in '' the High Court of Commissions." Abolition ideas of 



coit's eulogy. 185 

liberty are of a physical or hndlli/ freedom; sensual, lawless, and 
atheistic ; and, like similar dreams of the French philosophers, they 
terminate in the establishment of mental, moral, civil, religious, and 
political despotism, in the worst possible slavery ! So blind is might to 
what is right; so blind is will to what is law and justice. "Liberty, 
equality, and fraternity" is the cry; not one word of truth, justice, 
law, equity, or mercy I 

The boundary lines of the empire of Congress are plainly marked in 
the written constitution ; and all powers, sovereign, political or civil, 
not granted, are reserved to the State governments, or to the people of 
the States respectively. History teaches us how important and neces- 
sary it is distinctly to mark the geographical lines that separate the 
dominions of neighboring sovereigns. The lines that separate State 
and federal dominions and sovereignty, are written down in the book of 
the Kings ; and can only be discerned by the eye of the mind, and the 
eye royal. How can one of the sovereign people in this country, in such 
a conflict of jurisdiction, as that of nullification presented, " keep a 
conscience void of offence toward God and man," unless he knows 
which the Caesar is to whom his allegiance is lawfully due ? In this 
matter, unless he surrenders his mental and moral freedom, he must, 
himself, go to the foundations of the government. He must attend to 
the words written in the federal constitution ; he must enquire for 
historical facts ; and in the best light available, he must determine for 
himself to whom his fealty is due. Doubtless this [will require self- 
denial and mental labor; and is not civil, political, and religious liberty 
so dearly bought, worth understanding, using, and defending ? It can 
never be enjoyed or maintained, but by those who think it is worth all 
that it has cost. 

The aid of the learned is valuable to help us to come to an indepen- 
dent conviction of duty in our own understanding. They are generally 
willing to become our masters and rulers in this affair ; but if we sub- 
missibly bow to their authority, we renounce our personal freedom. 

The condition of public affairs, during the tariff excitement in South 
Carolina, compelled our citizens to study and search for the truth ; and 
the jjosition taken by the convention, and by the citizens of this State, 
in nullifying that pretended law, could never have been occupied or 
maintained, if their confidence had been in any man. It was not man 
worship, it was not Mr. Calhoun and his personal influence, but it was 
a profound conviction of the truth, and a sacred reverence of the jyrin- 
ciples, which that man's life illustrated, and which adorned and ennobled 
his heroic character. 



186 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

If South Carolina has hud the honor of occupying the forlorn hope, 
the pass of the moral Thermopylae, in the history of the liberties of this 
country, it was not more because Leonidas was her's, than that 80,000 
of her other sons were Spartans. 

Let us now notice what reverence and obedience is due in conscience 
or honor, in morals or law, from free and sovereign citizens of the State, 
to the written dictates of sectional majorities, (without the warrant of 
the constitution,) though clothed in the imposing forms of Congressional 
legislation. 

Let us examine, for a moment, the nature of the majority power 
under our system. It is by a covenavU that the ballot-box is substituted 
for the cartridge-box in our country. It is a matter of compact that 
men vote, and also what majority shall govern in the vote. The right 
of the majority to govern, is, therefore, a right that rests wholly on 
covenant. 

The Roman legions having the power, may take the responsibility of 
appointing the Caesar ; under our system the physical power of the. 
country is invoked to vote, not to fight for the civil rulers. But the 
nature of thQ power which appoints and maintains the civil government 
of a country, is the military power. An election is a sham fight, where 
paper is used instead of lead. When the civil governors arc chosen, 
the lawful power of the legions (of the voters) is at an end ; they have 
exercised all their political rights, and during the term of their offices, 
our civil rulers are of right independent of the people ; for they are 
brought under the obligations of law, moral, and constitutional, and they 
cannot discharge their high duties without freedom. 

The constitution expressly ordains, Art I. sec. 1., that " ALL legisla- 
tive power herein granted, shall be vested in a Congress of the United 
States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." 

AVhen, therefore, our federal rulers, instead of themselves (joverning 
the country, as they are sworn to do, according to the best of their own 
judgment and ability, and according to the written constitution, 
hearken to the popular cry ; cut the cords of the moral law which bind 
them ; the cords of the constitution and the bonds of their own oath ; 
when they renounce the legal unction and authority of civil rulers, and 
degrade themselves to the servile office of obedience to the commands of 
the majorities who elected them; when they ask and wait for the re- 
scripts of the legions, before they dare to act in legislation, the nature 
of our government is virtually changed, and the military is above the 
civil power in the system. To that point things have been long tending, 
under the shallow pretext of public opinion, and under the influence of 



coit's eulogy. 187 

the common error that majorities have a right to govern. Majorities 
have no other right to govern, than what they have by compact, in the 
form and manner and times of voting for their civil riilers, by the terms 
of the written State and Federal constitutions. 

When rulers, like reeds shaking in the wind, tremble and bend at 
the whispers or clamors of popular majorities ; the political body resem- 
bles the natural body of him who, renouncing the supremacy of the law, 
and the functions of his own understanding and conscience, gives him- 
self up as a prey to the seductions or fury of his sensual or malignant 
propensities. Yea, even worse, it has not unfrequently resembled the 
body of the unhappy man, who dwelt among the tombs and in the 
mountains, possessed of a legion of devils, whom no mere creature could 
tame or bind with chains, and who was continually cutting himself with 
stones. Mark, v: 2-21. There is no hope in such a case, but when 
all the devils have taken full possession of all the swine, but then they 
will all be destroyed together I 

Majorities (no matter how great) have abstractly no other right to 
govern than that which the natural power of the strongest may give 
them, " the right of might," and numerical majorities are no true tests 
of that power. Consider Cortez and Montezuma, Scott, and our other 
commanders, with their little bands holding in subjection and giving 
law to the millions in Mexico. 

The Senators and Eepresentatives in Congress are under moral obli- 
gations to govern this country to the best of their wisdom, in the things 
committed to them, according to our written fundamental law. Thev 
are, by Divine and human sanctions and authority, the rulers, and not 
the servants, of the people. Mr. Calhoun acted upon these principles 
in a manner worthy the dignity and responsibility of a governor of the 
people; said he, " I never know what my State thinks of a measure. 
i never consult her. I act to the best of my judgment, and according 
to my conscience. If she approve, well and good. If she does not, or 
wishes any one else to take my place, I am willing to vacate ; " 

The appointing power of civil rulers, the power that keeps them in 
their place, and that gives effect to their legislation, is the military 
power ; it is the power of the sword. If the legions appoint or acquiesce 
in the succession of a Caesar, their whole power is exhausted. The 
policy of his civil government they have no right to dictate or control. 
When the civil ruler obeys the orders of the military, then there is 
practically no civil government. Under our system we are not to look 
for the military power of the country to the army or navy, or to the 
militia in actual service. The military power of this country is seen in 
the display of the voters at the polls. 



188 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

If there be virtue enougli iu our wliole voting population, to choose 
their rulers, and then promptly, conscientiously, and honorably bow to 
what is the laio of the land ; and if dissatisfied, patiently 'bide their 
time for the legal return of the period to exercise their right to vote, 
we shall give our constitution and our popular system a fair trial ; if 
not, we shall probably find that the political value of the poll in our 
system is practically inconsistent with the existence of any civil govern- 
ment at all. 

Our Federal constitution, under the operation of so vicious a practice, 
though it will be destroyed by the exercise of a power in its nature 
military ; yet from the manner of its display and influence, its results 
will work out in the issues, all the confusion and horrors of anarchy. 
The civil government and power of the State will, in such a general ruin, 
be the only life-boat of the people. 

If the foregoing observations are just, then we can perceive what a 
slight hold the duress of sectional majorities in Congress have upon the 
conscience of the people. The rulers, by renouncing their own moral 
obligations, and the law of the constitution, strip thei)* own enactments 
of all moral validity. 

That Mr. Calhoun's views of the constitution, (which we have en- 
deavored to make the burden of our speech,) are historically, philosohi- 
cally and politically true, is believed by the great body of the people of 
this State. That they are important to our independence, and necessary 
to a government of law, is certain, and their importance is becoming 
more and more manifest as our country expands, and new States are 
forming out of people coming in among us from all nations under 
heaven. 

The Northern statesmen seem slow to receive Mr. Calhoun's prin- 
ciples ; though Mr. Webster admits, that if his premises are conceded, 
all his doctrines are undeniable. Well, his premises are historical facts, 
and the written constitution ; Mr. Webster seems slow of heart to be- 
lieve and understand the political gospel of the constitution. When he 
poured out his whole heart (as he said in his speech) he declared 
solemnly that he did not, that he could not, believe Southern gentlemen 
were in earnest, when they talked of their being willing rather to dis- 
solve the Union, than submit to political usurpation, degradation, and 
oppresvsion. He seems amazed at the excitement at the South, and 
speaks of being willing to give 850,000,000, or even $200,000,000, to 
colonize our free negroes I ! He seems to be under the amazing delusion 
that it is a dollar business ! Mr. Calhoun had been pleading for 
political y«s<u-e. Mr. Webster oifered ''an alms," a benevolence ! If 



COIT S EULOGY. 189 

Mr. Webster had seen the things that 3Ir. Calhoun saw, he would 
have understood that the South would rather have from the North 
moral, civil, and political/Ms<{ce, than all the liquid silver and solid gold 
in Mr. Webster's immense '' shield of Achilles." 

Mr. Calhoun is said to have remarked, that he never made a quo- 
tation, except the following in the Southern Address. " Timeo Danaos 
et dona ferentes," and that he left the world to judge his meaning. 

The Roman arms demolished the Grecian empire, but Greek literature 
was too much for Roman valor. 

Solomon's counsel stands yet upon record. 

" When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is 
set before thee, and put a knife to thy throat if thou be a man given to 
appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties, for they are deceitful meat." 

Fellow citizens — Perhaps it is due to you to say something about the 
length of my performance. In my preparation I considered the times, 
him of whom, and those to whom, I was to speak. You will find my 
apology in the occasion, in my theme, and in my audience. 



RION'S EULOGY. 



Eulogy on Hon. .1. C. Calhoun, delivered in the South Carolina College Chapel, 
on Saturday Evening, May 11, 1850. By Mr. James H. Rion, of Pendleton, 
a member of the Senior Class. 

The Editor feels that this Volume would be incomplete, did it contain no allu- 
sion to this very creditable production. Whilst, therefore, he regrets that his 
limits do not allow of its re-publication entire, he avails himself of this mode to 
make just and honorable mention of it. Mr. Rion's Eulogy is, in fact, a per- 
formance at once graceful, earnest, and truthful. Nor will it be viewed 
with less interest when we consider that it proceeded from one who was a 
member of Mr. Calhoun's household, and otherwise well qualified, by talents 
and accomplishments, for his grateful task. To say no more, it furnishes a 
pleasant spectacle. Amid the crowd of mourning elders — divines, orators, and 
scholars — who gather around the tomb of the great dead, the young man — the 
student — the friend presents himself, and lays his offering down. 



MILES' DISCOUKSE. 



'S-S'?J^® 



Tbe Discourse on the occasion of the Funeral of the Hon. John C. Caluoux, 
delivered under the appointment ot the Joint Committee of the City Council 
and Citizens of Charleston, in St. Philip's Church, April 26, 1850, by the Rev. 
James W. Miles, published by the request of his Excellency Whitemarsh B. 
Seabkook, and of the Joint Committee. 

Tlio memory of the just is blessed. — I'rov. x : 7. 

The lessou of death is never more impressive than when it calls forth 
the spontaneous sympathy of a nation's heart. The selfishness of pri- 
vate grief is then merged in the sense of a public calamity ; and those 
tears which are the expression of a natural and justifiable weakness, 
become ennobled by the magnitude of an affliction which penetrates 
even to the homestead of the humblest citizen. 

If the familiar examples of daily mortality should be sufficiently strik- 
ing to arrest the thoughts of man ; with what solemnity and awe should 
that voice be heard, which, summoning irresistibly an entire and great 
Commonwealth to the tomb of one of her most conspicuous leaders, bids 
all alike to meditate upon his dust, and to prepare to meet their God. 
At such a grave, the Omnipotent Ruler of the Universe stands, as it 
were, before an assembled Nation, and pointing to a future Judgment, 
calls the feebleness of mortality to look to that Power, without whose 
sanction, all human counsels come to naught, and in obedience to whose 
will, can alone be found the surest guarantee of national stability. 

The power, the majesty, the wisdom of Deity, are everywhere con- 
spicuous in the acts of His Providence. But He proclaims them in a 
manner far different from that by which the children of men distinguish 
the objects of their honor. We fill the world with our monuments, our 
eulogies, our acclamations, to exalt the glory of heroes, and to do hom- 
age to the virtues of the great; but the silent and resistless march of 
death arrests a nation with the astonishment of grief; His viewless hand 
in a moment levels all human grandeur in the dust ; and amidst the 
stillness of national awe and bereavement, He sublimely proclaims that 
"God alone is Great." 

But those solemn lessons of Providence, which appeal no less to the 



192 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

national conscience than to the individual heart, not only move the man 
to reflect upon the inevitable doom of mortality and the life beyond the 
grave J they also call upon the citizen to profit by the experience of the 
past, to ponder the destiny of the future, and faithfully to fulfil the duty 
of the present. 

The heroic spirit in which a young Republic must first be planted, 
can not be expected to maintain its unaltered vigor and purity in the 
progress of uninterrupted prosperity and accumulating power. Opposi- 
tion and adversity are necessary for the development of the noblest qual- 
ities of man. But when the interests of the country and the public 
danger can no longer arouse the dormant spirit of patriotism ; when the 
qualities which should mark the iiational character of a great and free 
people — a high sense of public honor and an incorruptible devotion to 
the duties of the citizen — appear, in time of trial, as personal distinc- 
tions, and thus the glory of the individual becomes the reproach of the 
peoiple who are not animated by the same spirit, it is then that we may 
justly tremble for the destinies of a Republic. 

Far be the hour, when selfishness and jealousy, — when personal am- 
bition, forgetting principle and accountability to the Ruler of Nations, 
shall strengthen instead of subduing the wild phrenzy of Fanaticism, 
that it may be borne amidst disastrous storm to unhallowed distinction; — 
far be the hour, when the spirit of faction shall surrender our Confede- 
racy to havoc and desolation ! 

It is only when a- Nation is recreant to itself, — when it tramples down 
the essential elements of its own greatness, — when it spurns, and be- 
comes, consequently, blind to the lessons of Providence, that the Divine 
Power, by whom alone nations are sustained in prosperity, abandons it 
to the weakness and ignorance of human device, aud to the fury and 
terrible might of human passions. 

It is not in her fleets, her armies, her treasures, or her domains, that 
the elements of a Republic's greatness and stability are to be found. 
These must proceed from the character of her citizens. And while 
this character should surpass that of the citizens of every other polity, 
because Free Institutions are the result of the highest development of 
civilization and intellect, yet should those Institutions be in advance of 
the national character, which alone can insure their stability, they must 
become corrupted and destroyed. If the spirit and character which 
alone can originate a Free Constitution, retrograde and decay, such a 
Constitution being then in advance of the national development, will 
prove useless to the people who no longer deserve it, and of whose po- 
litical position it has ceased to be the true and necessary exponent. It 



miles' discourse. 193 

is not the written Constitution whicli can secure liberty ; but it is the 
preservation of the fundamental idea upon which the Constitution is 
based, which can alone preserve it inviolate, and invest it vv'ith majestic 
authority. So soon as a nation loses, or neglects, or falls behind, the 
lofty principles upon which a really Free Constitution must have been 
founded, the written document althouu'h it may retain its nominal rank, 
has become already a dead letter, — valueless for the protection of rights, 
whose sacred character and solemn guarantee, the mass of the people 
have become too profligate or cori-upt to appreciate and respect. A 
Nation in such a condition of decline, is no longer worthy of the Liberty 
whose fundamental principles of Equity it neither comprehends nor con- 
sults ; but it is upon the sure and fatal road to anarchy, and its neces- 
sary consequence, despotism. Political freedom can no more be im- 
parted, than the maturity of the man can be at once bestowed upon the 
child. License may be given ) but true Freedom can only be the spon- 
taneous and necessary result of a people's just development and wants. 
Hence the greatness of the Republican Statesman is not to be sought 
only in his higb sense of national honor and his incorruptible devotion 
to the duties of the citizen, — for these are the common, though lofty, 
prerogatives of the humblest member of a Free Commonwealth ; but it 
is the distinction of such a Statesman to foresee the dangers which 
threaten to corrupt and extinguish this vital national spirit, — to know 
how to preserve it from the insidious wiles of the demagogue, — and to 
animate it to full vigor, wheu the Constitution is threatened with inva- 
sion. 

The greatness of a statesman's genius is not to be estimated simply 
by what he has accomplished ; for his prophetic mind may reach for- 
ward to results far beyond the point where his coutempoi'aries are able 
or prepared to follow. The appreciation of his wisdom must often be 
left to that justice which experience will compel from posterity ; and 
hence, he will often appear greater in what he aimed at, than in what 
he actually effected. To triumph over the spirit of party, and induce 
co-operation for high national ends, is a greatness which may well sat- 
isfy the aspirations of the patriotic statesman. But to point out, amidst 
obloijuy and the imputation of unworthy motives, a line of policy for 
the future so comprehensive in the scope of the objects and difficulties 
which it embraces and meets as not to be understood by the contempo- 
raries who arc startled at and reject it, this is the greatness of a 
genius whose best triumphs belong to the future, — whose present failure 
will only enhance the glory of the final verdict. 

It is ever the distinguishing trait of such a statesman, that Truth and 

l;5 



194 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

Justice arc dearer to his soul tliau political reputation and success. 
The desire for fame which has been called " the instinct of noble souls,"* 
is in hiin subordinate to duty and principle; and he, therefore, possesses 
that conviction which ever imparts so much grandeur and serenity to 
mental decision and moral courage, — the calm and prophetic conviction, 
that the severe tribunal of history must do him justice, and that the 
impartial judgment of posterity will appreciate his services and do hon- 
or to his motives. Politics, for him, has no ephemeral or party signifi- 
cation ; but (to employ language which we have elsewhere used,"]") it is, 
in his large estimation, nothing narrower or meaner, than the Science 
which has for its graud object the development of man as a being cre- 
ated for the social and political condition, in which alone the full culti- 
vation of his whole nature can be attained, and which, therefore, em- 
braces all that can tend to the fulfilment of this end of bis existence. 

With such a view of the objects of Political Science no specious theo- 
ries of a social contract, or of natural equality, or of government, as a 
mere experimental machine, will ever obscure to the statesman's mind 
those principles of Nature and Equity, in which human society and 
national government are really founded. Starting from the constitution 
of man's nature, he evolves fundamental principles as the basis of his 
political theories and policy, which render him the consistent supporter 
of just government, equitable representation, true political equality, 
rational liberty, and in short, of all the constitutional rights of the free 
citizen. Of these, he is the supporter, not because they are party dog- 
mas, but by a moral necessity, because they result from the immutable 
truths whence Government and Political freedom themselves originate. 
The investigation of these truths must occupy us for a time, because 
they reveal one of the most important parts of the Statesman's charac- 
ter, — the intellectual conceptions upon which his political theories and 
course are moulded, and by which he must be judged as a political phi- 
losopher. 

He clearly perceives that all government must be referred for its ori- 
gin to the necessary development of human nature, as constituted by 
Deity himself. The family relation was established by God, when he 



'"' Buvke. 

t In the Southern Review, Nos. XXVIII, July, 1848, and XXX, July, 1849. 

The hinguage is incorporated in this discourse, not only because it is as suitable 
and clear, as any other which the author could perhaps produce at this moment, 
in stating the fundamental political truths upon which a Republican Statesman's 
principles are based, but also because the pi-inciples expressed in the Articles 
here made use of, are believed to be generally accordant with those which were 
held by the lamented subject of this essay. 



miles' discourse. 105 

made male and female to multiply, to assist, to comfort, and to depend 
upon each other. Bxit as tlie increase of man from this primary law of 
his social condition would naturally involve multiplication of families, 
the family circles necessarily implied a still jnore extended and compli- 
cated circle of relationship, for their mutual existence, support and pro- 
tection. And as, moreover, the nature of man involved his whole de- 
velopments as a moral, social and political being, for the full perfectio)i 
of all his faculties, the State must have been included in the original 
idea of Man. The true nature of a being can only be fully developed 
in the ultimate perfection of which that being is capable. Hence the 
highest form of that being is the fulfilment of its true idea ; and the 
idea must thus logically precede and involve every subordinate condi- 
tion and successive development of the being. The parts of the build, 
ing, and every successive advance under the builder's hand, pre-suppose 
and point to the complete plan, and the true nature of the structure 
only appears when its full idea is realized. Thus the true nature of 
man will only be revealed, when he is perfectly developed according to 
the full idea of his original design. 

That man was not intended only for, and, consequently, is not per- 
fectly developed as to all his faculties and capabilities, only in, the fam- 
ily relation and condition, is self-evident. This condition then, must 
be included in the pre-conceived or logically antecedent condition of a 
still wider sphere, upon which the family itself must depend for its 
own perfect and protected existence — ^just as the mere individual exist- 
ence must depend upon and imply the antecedent existence of family. 
That sphere, including the family, is, of course, the State. Hence, by 
the law of man's nature, the actual development of Family and State 
must as inevitably take place, as that man exists ; — and thus, ou.t of the 
very nature of man. Government must necessarily arise. Man could 
never choose whether he would be governed or not ; it is inseparable 
from any condition of his existence. He could not as an individual 
exist without the family, and the existence of the family necessarily in- 
volves that of government. The same is evidently time of his condition 
when that enlarges beyond the sphere of the family. The principle of 
f/overnmcnt must develop itself as certainly as the principle of gravita- 
tion. It is as essential and inseparable a condition of man's existence, 
as ffood government is unquestionably an essential condition of his well- 
being. 

The /onn under which the principle of government will develop 
itself, will be determined by the state of man's progress towards the 
realization of his true nature as a perfect moral, social, and political 



190 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

being. Hence, when man reaches an advanced degree of development, 
and the general intellect of a people is highly unfolded and cultivated, 
(and this must be understood to include moral, social, and political cul- 
tivation,) then the general intellect will naturally be the governing 
power — and as there must, from the very nature of things, be always 
governed and governing, these two classes will then become identical. 
But where the most are fit for self-government, as all cannot actually 
exercise the functions of governing, .there must be free selection ; and 
hence arises representation as inseparable from self-government. As it 
is evident that in a free State, government (and by necessary implica- 
tion legislation) must be developed through representation, the obvious 
principle by which this must be regulated, is that the just ratio 
between every class and interest of the citizens be preserved, so that 
the free action of each in its proper sphere is secured — none encroach- 
ing or being encroached upon, but each contributing to the healthy 
action of the whole, and the whole to the well-being of every class. 

The citizen, then, in a free State, is entitled to representation. But, 
in order justly to maintain the rights of the free citizen, the statesman 
must inquire upon what the right of citizenship itself depends ? Every 
individual protected by the State may therefore be taxed by the State. 
The right of property certainly involves the right of a voice with regard 
to the amount of taxation, and to measures affecting the rights and sta- 
bility of property itself But it is the right of self-government which 
involves the right of representation. And while, in a Commonwealth 
or Free State every one may be a citizen in posse, he only is entitled to 
be truly a citizen in esse, who has attained the right or fitness of sclf- 
sovernment. The accident of beins; born in a Commonwealth, can not 
itself constitute a right to actual citizenship. The true citizen is ho, 
who, partaking of the political equality of the State, is both governing 
and governed, and thus is entitled to all the privileges of the freeman. 
And hence it is evident that the right of citizenship must emanate from 
the constitution of the State. If the constitution confer this right 
upon those unfit for it, it can only do so at imminent peril. He alone 
who has attained that degree of intellectual, moral, social and political 
advancement, which renders him fit for self-government as a freeman, 
possesses the natural right of citizenship in a true Commonwealth, al- 
though the constitution may confer the political right upon any class. 
When an individual becomes conscious of the true principles of self- 
control, or of moral, legal and political duty, he is no longer in pupilage, 
but possesses the natural riyltt of self-government. And so, when a 
Nation becomes conscious of the true principles of government, and of 



miles' discourse. 107 

social and national duty, it also possesses the natural rvjlit of self- 
government. Thus it is evident that self-government both implies, and 
springs from, a high degree of civilization and political advancement 
and knowledge. H\\c poirer of self-government may be conferred upon 
a people who are not fit, and who do not, therefore, possess the 7ught 
for it. A mere self-governing people, therefore, are not necessarily a 
free people, for they may govern themselves, or submit to be governed, 
very despotically. ])ut a people must be free, in order truly to govern 
themselves. The most perfect freedom is that state in which man can 
best fulfil the ends of his being ; and those ends, from the very nature 
of man, include moral and religious elements ; so that the most perfect 
government is that which comprehends, developes and fosters that con- 
dition. It is only, then, among men in a condition of freedom that a 
Government most adapted to such a state can dcvelope itself; for as 
the ybrm of government must spring out of the political wants of man, 
true, free government (which, ex vi termini, is self-government) can 
only spring from man in such a degree of advancement as to be able to 
comprehend the true nature of freedom. If, then, a particular class 
who have not reached the intellectual, moral and political development 
which implies the fitness or right of self-government, be nevertheless 
admitted to full and equal citizenship in the Commonwealth, it is evi- 
dent tliat true political equality will be violated, and the perfect idea of 
a just, self-governing Commonwealth will be infringed. 

But in the natural progress of man's development, it is evident that 
something more than the care of body and goods enters into the reali- 
zation of his true nature, and therefore becomes comprehended in the 
objects of the State, which, springing from the development of that 
nature, is bound to do all which tends to protect, foster and perfect it. 
This the State practically eflFects through Government. Government 
necessarily implies law ; and good government implies order, just law, 
and consequent security and protection of every individual right. lu 
a free State, every citizen is in relation to the right of self-government, 
governor, and in relation to good order and just law, governed. All 
may respectively rule and be ruled ; hence the rulers for the time being 
are responsible to the ruled, as all are — not to the will of the majority, 
but — to Order, to Law, and to the Constitution ; and thus such a polity 
presents the truest idea of a common-v!cn\i\\, or a State, in which all 
citizens participate equally in Constitutional rights, and in which the 
highest well-being of each and of the whole is interdependent, and forms 
the common object of the care of all. And this evidently constitutes 
political equality. 



198 TTIE ("AROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

As mau's nature can Dever realize its truest idea without the just de- 
velopment of its moral and religious, as well as its social and political, 
elements, these should form an essential object of the care and protec- 
tion of government. The Cxovernment is not the State. Nor is the 
mere ao'oi-efate of the individuals of a nation th*e State. But the State 
is the orrranic or constitutional embodiment of the nation under the idea 
of a particular polity. Or, in other words, the State is the nation ex- 
isting as a political being, developing and exercising determinate func- 
tions according to the law of its nature or constitution. To that nature 
Government owes its form. It grows out of, or is the necessary creation 
of, the State as its organ of reason and will. And hence as the reason 
and will of the State must always exei'cise and apply themselves for the 
regulation of its affairs, for the protection and furtherance of justice 
and right, and for securing the performance of its intentions, so its 
organ Grovernment must ever be concerned with legislative, judicial and 
executive functions. This view of the Government and the St^te ren- 
ders it intelligible how there may be a characteristic general State poli- 
cy, which yet some particular Government for the time being of the 
same State, may quite depart from and contradict ; and it also leads to 
the just consequence that as Government is thus the organ of the State's 
action, and the State includes the highest interests of the citizen, Gov- 
ernment must be concerned with moral questions, and cannot limit its 
duties to the mere conservation of body and goods. The State thus 
becomes clothed with a venerable sanctity, as including all the ends of 
the family existence, and proposing still higher ones of its own, — hav- 
ing iu view the most perfect earthly condition of man, and the most 
favorable circumstances under which his whole nature can manifest and 
mature and employ its powers. 

If such general principles are calculated to give the Statesman lofty 
ideas of public good, of the objects of government, and of the service of 
humanity ; no less must his views of rational liberty render him the 
inflexible defender of right against the encroachments of tyranny and of 
license. For liberty, to him, cannot be merely the greatest individual 
freedom from restraint compatible with the safety and peace of the State ; 
but it is that condition in which man can most perfectly fulfil the ends 
of his creation. xVbsolute individual unrestraint is an impossibility. 
Were the necessary and natural limitations of Family and State removed 
from the individual, and were he placed at once in maturity in the 
world, the very elements and the physical obstacles of his planet, — nay, 
his own finitude of nature, would effectually control him. And if his 
Keason were unpervertod, she would herself impose the barrier of Tior 



miles' discourse. lO'J 

laws to his unbounded license. But born into a condition where he is 
by nature included in Family and State, these can no more be said to 
form checks to his liberty, than his want of wings does to his physical, 
or his want of an archangel's intellect does to his mental freedom. They 
only show that his liberty has a nature, — that it possesses inherent laws 
of its own, as does every subject of Creative Power; and hence, it is by 
the preservation of that nature and its laws, that its true character is 
preserved; and a violation of them would destroy real liberty, and 
make it an abortion or a monster. Subjected to the will of a mere des- 
pot, the nature of man's liberty would be violated in the repression of 
its true end — the just development of all the faculties of his being. 
But it would be equally violated if he were left to the absolute license 
of his passions, or his mere animal volition undirected by reason ; for 
under their dominion, he would not be free to develop his whole na- 
ture in the just ratio of its several faculties. 

True liberty, then, must be, like free Constitutions, the growth of 
time and the offspring of maturity. And as a state of liberty is neces- 
sary for the perfection of the political being, so that state itself can only 
spring from the development of that being, morally, intellectually and 
politically, in his progress towards fulfilling the end of his existence. 

If we have risked even prolixity and reiteration in the statement of 
these political principles, it is because they are the sacred legacy of 
ages of experience, trial, and wisdom ; they are the vital power of all 
free institutions ; they are the precious gift of Clod to the inheritors of 
liberty ; and it is only by their realization and preservation in practical 
• forms, that success can be attained in the great experiment of Self- 
Government, which, under Providence, we are making for the hopes, 
and as the representatives of humanity. The statesman whose mental 
character is not imljued with these principles, can do us no immortal 
service, however brilliant his temporary course ; while the public man 
who is actuated by them, is a worthy object of homage and glory to a 
free people, even if we could not point to any political distinctions which 
he had enjoyed, but could only display these principles, and declare that 
such were the truths which guided him, and which he held dearer than 
office and human honors. 

In accordance with such principles, the great statesman of an en- 
lightened republic, who in his different relations to the State is both 
ruler and subject, the administrator and the object of the laws, bears 
pre-eminently the sacred palladium of law and justice in his own bosom, 
as the protection of the rights of others, and as the ^security of his own 
fidelity to legal authority, Eeverencing those virtues in the Divin(^ 



200 THE OAUOLTNA TRTBTITE TO fVMJTOUN. 

Being, who is at once their fountain and perfection, he is filled with 
their full dignity. And imbued with a sense of dependence upon Grod 
— recognizing Him as the Arbitrar of Nations, Avho establishes and 
destroys — possessing a solemn consciousness of accountability to a Judge 
of unerring equity — he is immeasurably elevated above the corrupt 
influence of the seducing demagogue, the temptations of faction, the 
forgetfulness of duty, and the lure of false ambition. Just and virtuous 
in every relation of life, he fulfils the description which was given of 
one of the noblest citizens,* '' that he lived for his family as if he had 
no friends ; for his friends as if he had no country ; and for his country 
as if he possessed no friends." No plausible expediency ever deludes 
him from inflexible principle. No party support or clamor ever blinds 
liim to sacred justice. No worldly ambition ever deflects him from 
righteous duty. Knowing that the glory and safety of the republic lie 
in peace and in the virtue of her citizens, he seeks to promote every / 
measure which can foster the arts of the one, and enlighten, elevate and 
purify the other. And aff'ording in his own person the highest example | 
of his principles — bearing in his own bosom the conscious dignity of 
his membershiji in a free commonwealth — exerting his final energies 
and raising his last voice in behalf of the country which he has served 
so well — he will be able, even amidst lowering storms, calmly to commit 
liis character to posterity, and his soul to that Providence in whom ho 
maintained unshaken confidence to the last. His country will verify 
the wisdom of his policy ; she will crown his name with imperishable 
glory ; she will sooth the grief of his widow and children with her tears 
of unfeigned sympathy ; and she will lead her young citizens to adorn' 
his grave, and to kindle at the dear and hallowed spot, as at an altar of 
liberty, the spirit of all that can ennoble the freeman and the citizen. 

Shall we ever behold the living embodiment of such a statesman ? 
The universal voice of the commonwealth — the homage which we are 
now paying to an illustrious name — the revered dust which lies before 
us — all proclaim that the character is real ; that the man has passed 
forever from among us ! 

This is not the occasion upon which to review the circumstances of 
his life, or the great measures and principles of his public policy. They 
belong to history, and require an abler pen and more copious materials 
than we can command. We are called upon to lay to heart the lessons 

"- Dr. Thomas Arnold, late Head Master of Rugby School, in England. The 
moral sympathy between his character and that of Mr. Calhoun, and the vigor 
and suggestive nature of his writings, entitle bis " Life and Correspondence," as 
well as his Works generally, to the attention of the statesninn, the thinking man, 
and especially tlie young. 



miles' dtsooijrse. '201 

wliich his well-known and conspicuous character suggests. And amidst 
the universal expression of sympathy and admiration which his death has 
elicited from every part of the country, language has heen so exhausted 
in delineating his qualities, that we can do no more than select some 
obvious traits to weave into an humble garland for the statesman's bier. 

No eloquence can be more touching than that silent dust ; no expres- 
sion of grief can adequately give utterance to the greatness of our loss. 
But the legacy of his name is more precious than treasure ; the posses- 
sion of his grave, around which will ever cluster such great and heart- 
stirring associations, is itself a bulwark more impregnable than adamant. 
For they will ever appeal to and animate that spirit of the citizen which 
is the true safeguard of the country. 

The illustrious statesman himself is not altogether lost to lis ; he 
belono's to those reiral intellects avIiosc dominion never ceases — 

Those dead, but sceptred sovereigns, who still rule 
Our spirits from their urns. 

His writings will rank him among great philosophers, as his admirable 
career has placed him among the greatest statesmen. We will still 
learn wisdom from the records of his genius, and anticipate our national 
experience and wants in the pages of his prophetic observation. But 
although his voice can be heard no more, and the great lessons of his 
intellect will henceforth only instruct us in the printed page, yet the 
spirit which animated him lives in thousands of bosoms and nerves 
thousands of hearts — the spirit — not of ephemeral enthusiasm, but — of 
earnest determination, of heroic decision, which no crisis can appal, and 
which no encroachment can subdue — the spirit which fully conscious 
of the blessing of peace, spares no honorable eifort to maintain it ; but 
which deeply. imbued with the convictions of right and justice, will 
manifest the constancy of the martyr in defending them — the spirit 
which scarce ever appears in the stormy arena of the politician and the 
public press ; but which deeply seated in the silent and sterling mass 
of the people, who constitute the true sinews of a nation, will unite 
them as one man, in a contest for true freedom, equality, and justice, 
against the tyranny of aggression. Animated by such a spirit, a free 
people can not be subdued — a great nation, with its exhaustless re- 
sources, can not be crushed. Every mountain pass might prove a 
Thermopylae, but every plain would be a Marathon. The sacrifice of 
Leonidas might be often imitated ; the victory of Miltiades would be 
constantly rivalled. And if even now the solemn call of Providence be 
disregarded, which bids our public leaders bury in this sacred grave nil 



20lJ THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

party animosity and personal ambition, and unite in impenetrable 
phalanx for truth and justice ; yet the peorle, so long as they hold in 
memory the grave of him who died battling for the great principles of 
Equity and National Safety — a memory as thrilling as the oath of 
Demosthenes by the souls of those who fell at Marathon — will be ani- 
mated by the indomitable spirit of the illustrious patriot — will exhibit 
that union which he commended almost with his dying breath — and 
will, in revering and carrying out his counsels by firm and consistent 
action, erect in their own conduct the noblest monument to his virtues 
and his wisdom. 

The greatness of that wisdom may be the prerogative of genius alone ; 
the excellency of those virtues can be the honorable aspiration of all. 
If we have no language like the matchless eloquence of Greece, in whose 
magnificence and undying glory to embalm his name, we have the 
hearts of freemen to appreciate his moral qualities, and the resolution of 
high-minded men to imitate them. 

The truly majestic dignity of his character, which like the pure sun- 
light, would have rebuked and driven back to its own dark littleness, 
the selfishness of petty ambition or the desire of mere party distinction, 
was illustrated by his transcendent genius, without being derived from 
it. It was rooted in a soil nobler even than intellectual ability. It 
was the offspring of the profoundest moral principle. What is right — 
what is just, were the queries which guided him in the determination 
of duty; and principle based upon immutable Truth, so far as the most 
conscientious exercise of judgment could discover it, was infinitely 
dearer to him than party interests or personal applause. He would have 
scorned a distinction not won by honest service, and would have shrunk 
from a fame uncoupled with virtuous action. 

Seldom has a Statesman been so fondly regarded by his own people 
as a guide and authority ; never has one been more loftily elevated above 
the arts of the demagogue. To seek for popular favor or to flatter the 
popular taste, was as inconsistent with his principles, as it was alien 
from his dignity. It was the high moral sentiment — the cleaving to 
truth, and principle, and conscience, at all hazards, at any sacrifice, and 
however deserted — which imparted at times, to the habitual simplicity 
of his language, a grandeur of eloquence which no mere splendors of 
rhetoric could rival. In reference to one of those trying times, which 
no less wring the heart than test the fidelity of a public man, possessing 
a noble and sensitive nature, his language was-—'' I saw that to stand 
between [a great and powerful party] and their object, I must neces- 
sarily incur their deep and lasting displeasure. * * =>= I would 



miles' discourse. 20:> 

unite against me a combination of political and moneyed influence 
almost irresistible. Nor was this all. I could not but sec, that how- 
ever pure and disinterested my motives, and however consistent my 
course with all I had ever said or done, I should be exposed to the very 
charges and aspersions which I am now repelling. '^ '•' * But 
there was another consequence that I could not but foresee, far more 
painful to me than all others. I but too clearly saw that, in so sudden 
and complex a juncture, called ou as I was to decide on my own coui'se 
instantly, as it were, on the field of battle, without consultation or ex- 
plaining my reasons, I Avould estrange for a time many of my political 
friends, who had passed through with me so many trials and difficulties, 
and for whom I feel a brother's love. But I saw before me the path of 
duty ; and though rugged and hedged on all sides with these and many 
other difficulties, I did not hesitate a moment to take it. Yes, alonxi. 
* =!: * After I had made up my mind as to my course, in a conver- 
sation with a friend about the responsibility I would assume, he remarked 
that my own State might desert me. I replied that it was not impos- 
sible ; but the result has proved that I under-estimated the intelligence 
and patriotism of my virtuous and noble State. I ask her pardon for 
the distrust implied in my answer ; but I ask with assurance it will be 
granted, on the grounds I shall put it — that, in being prepared to sac- 
ritice her confidence, dear to me as light and life, rather than disobey, 
on this great question, the dictates of my judgment and conscience, 1 
proved myself not unworthy of being her representative."* 

Upon another occasion, of no trifling interest to the honor of the 
American name, he said — " There is not a State, even the most in- 
debted, with the smallest resources, that has not ample resources to meet 
its engagements. For one, I pledge myself. South Carolina is also in 
debt. She has spent her thousands in wasteful extravagance on one of 
the most visionary schemes that ever entered into the head of a thinking- 
man. I dare say this even of her ; I, who on this floor stood up to 
defend her almost alone aoainst those who threatened her with fire and 
sword, but who are now so squeamish about State rights, as to be 
shocked to hear it asserted that a State was capable of extravagant and 
wasteful expenditures. Yes, I pledge myself that she will pay punctu- 
ally every dollar she owes, should it take the last cent, without inquiring 
whether it was spent wisely or foolishly. Should I in this be possibly 
mistaken — should she tarnish her unsullied honor, and brins; discredit 
on our common country by refusing to redeem her plighted faith, (which 

* Spopch in tho T'ni tod States Senate, M.nroli ]0, 1888. 



204 THE CAROLINA TUIBUTE TO CALHOUN. • 

I hold impossible,) deep as is my dcvDtion to her, and mother as she is 
to me, I woidd disown her."* Happy the State which could appreciate 
and proudly respond to the sentiments of such a son ; fortunate the 
Statesman who had such a people to appeal to and counsel. 

Confidence he won, not less by the conviction which he inspired of 
his thorough honesty, than by the evidence which he aiForded of pos- 
sessing the ability to grapple with any emergency. In his mental con- 
stitution he appeared to possess many points of striking resemblance to 
the great Stagyrite, whose vast and comprehensive genius has influenced 
the intellectual development of the civilized world. In truthfulness 
and earnestness, in the absorbing and unselfish interest which he mani- 
fested in public afildrs, in the nobility of his views respecting the objects 
of political science and the character of the citizen, he resembled the 
lamented Arnold. f But in the whole harmony and greatness of his 
character, he is a model with whom it will be the highest honor and 
praise for any future Statesman to be compared. 

Accustomed to the severe and abstract thought of the philosopher, 
no Statesman was more thoroughly practical in his measures. Analyzing 
with almost the rapidity of intuition, his logic was as clear as his lan- 
guage was accurate and concise. Without neglecting a link in his 
argument, he always left the impression that he had much more to say, 
and from his exhaustless storehouse, had only selected so much as he 
deemed best calculated to produce direct conviction. To know a duty 
was, with him, to perform it ; and hence he always aimed to convince 
the reason of the truth of his principles, rather than to awaken the 
sympathy of the feelings. His eloquence was of that grand style, which 
springs from the man's being thoroughly possessed by the conviction of 
the correctness and vital importance of his positions, combined with the 
elevating consciousness of being able to maintain them by the fairest 
.arguments. Whatever the subject of the discussions in which he en- 
gaged, it was always evident throughout his close but lucid reasoning^ 
that he kept steadily in view great ultimate principles, and reasoned 
from truths which he regarded as valid for all time. And it is this 
which will render his recorded speeches, even upon topics of ej^hemeral 
policy, a manual of immortal instruction. Circumstances may vary ; 
the immutable principles by which they are to be judged, possess an 
applicability co-extensive with time. He possessed in the most re- 
markable degree, the power of reducing a subject to its simplest aspect, 

* Speech in the United States Senate, February 5, 1840. 
f Dr. Thomas Arnold, already referred to. 



miles' discourse. 205 

by seizing and clearly presenting the ultimate principles and facts which 
it involved, and upon which its arguments rested. And hence the first 
perusal of some of his ablest speeches, often produced a feeling of sur- 
prise, that a series of plain propositions and unadorned reasons, so 
seemingly obvious that any sound mind might have perceived and 
uttered them, should have produced the conviction of the greatness of 
his efforts. But it becomes manifest, upon reflection, that it was this 
very simplicity and clearness in the presentation of the closest reasoning, 
so that its successive steps presented themselves almost like intuitive 
truth, which constituted the grandeur of his speeches, and compelled 
the highest tribute to the power of his genius. Truth was too steadily 
his object, to allow him to turn aside for culling the beauties of language, 
or indulging in the force of sarcasm ; but he amply proved, on memor- 
able occasions, that no man, when compelled to personal debate, could 
rise to loftier expression, or was more formidable in delineating an 
opponent. But the subject was never lost sight of in the opponent ; 
and the personal conflict never withdrew him from the dignified de- 
meanor of the Senator. Full of earnestness, energy, and unquenchable 
zeal, he was never mastered by passion, betrayed by hastiness, or deserted 
by the calmest judgment. The prophetic sagacity by which he was so 
often able to grasp all the complicated relations, and consequently the 
distant results of a measure or event, was only surpassed by the prophetic 
confidence with which he so often, and with such calm and lofty dignity, 
appealed to the future for the verification of his anticipations or the 
justification of his opinions and course. 

The respect which he commanded from all, and the attachment with 
which he inspired those who knew him best, ai'e the most admirable 
testimony to the nobility of his character. That consciousness of intel- 
lectual strength which is inseparable from genius, was perhaps not so 
much realized by him, as was that moral power, the offspring of con- 
scious integrity, which sustained him in gloom and trial, which shed a 
halo of noble dignity around his character, and which, while it attracted 
to him the admiration and affection of the virtuous, rendered him awful 
to the unprincipled and corrupt. And the enthusiasm and determina- 
tion with which his very name could fill the people of his native State, 
will in no emergency be weakened, now that that name is invested with 
all the hallowed associations which cling to the memory of the departed 
objects of veneration and love. 

Politics was to liim no subtle game for securing the triumph of party 
principles or the rewards of power and personal distinction ; but filled 
with a deep sense of the responsibility of his duty to the country and 



206 THE CAROLINA TKIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

to humanity, lie counselled fearlessly what he believed to be just and 
riu'lit, while the entire truthfulness of his character prevented him from 
concealing any conscientious conviction. He was eminently distin- 
guished for an immovable reliance upon the might of Justice and the 
ultimate triumph of Truth, which enabled him by its sustaining power, 
when once he was satisfied that he had grasped principles based upon 
those eternal foundations, to pursue his object with unshaken fortitude 
and decision, amidst every opposition, in the face of desertion and ob- 
loquy, under trials which might have crushed even a noble spirit, and, 
if need be, to face undauntedly a world in arms. Always bold and 
prompt, he was never rash or precipitate ; and his energy and resources 
appeared to rise with the greatness of the emergency which taxed them. 
The history of his administration of the War Department, proves that 
he possessed powers of combination and comprehensiveness of views, 
which would have enabled him to direct the most complicated interests 
of the greatest empire. The history of his course in the Senate as 
Vice-President of the United States, and on many occasions which will 
suggest themselves to those who know his whole career, prove that his 
"•onerous patriotism was of that pure and exalted character which 
enabled him to achieve the most matchless concjuest — the conquest of 
self. Prepared to assume any responsibility which the necessities or 
voice of the nation might call him to meet, he was too thoroughly in 
earnest in pursuing the great duties of his life, to make any oflGice a 
special aim. These duties he performed, as they met him, in reference 
to the great principles and ultimate results which they involved ; and, 
beyond that, he left it to Providence to determine the position in which 
he should discharge them. It is conceded on all hands that he would 
have eminently adorned the Presidency; but no human ofiice can add 
lustre to the greatness and glory of the man, who seems to have been 
tilled with the thought that his greatest ofiice was to make his life an 
embodiment of Truth, Justice, Virtue and National Service, and who 
was enabled to realize the conception. And if at a crisis when, as 
might appear to short-sighted mortals, his life would never have been 
more important, he could possibly know that the solemn appeal of his 
death had extinguished jealousy, and, in the general community of 
sympathy and grief, had led to a community of feeling in that fixed 
and united determination of the whole people which must constitute 
our safety ; if he could know that the example of his character had 
awakened in our young men who are pressing forward in a political 
career, a lofty conviction that the service of the country and of hu- 
manity is the solemn and responsible object of public life, which only 



miles' discourse. 207 

becomes degraded by being commingled with party strife and selfisb 
ambition ; if he could know that such a conviction would nerve them 
to oppose that fatal palsy of a people's energetic and united action, 
which the manojuvcring of demagogueism and party spirit strikes to the 
social heart — and that his own example would inspire them to regard 
integrity, purity, and unflinching adherence to righteous principle, as 
the only basis of true glory ; if he could now know that such fruits 
would spring from liis grave, he would feel that his course as a citizen 
and a statesman had received its most resplendent crown, and that in 
death he was even greater than in life. 

Citizens of South Carolina I for your cause he sacrificed personal 
ambition and political eleA'ation, and exhibited amidst appalling difiicul- 
ties, an unsurpassed intrepidity on behalf of your rights, your just 
equality, your property, and the honor of your "noble and virtuous 
State." You have worthily loved him — you have answered his unshaken 
fidelity with unwavering confidence for forty years — and you are not 
ashamed to weep over the ashes of the dead. Such tears are no effu- 
sion of weakness-^-they are the honorable tribute of generous and manly 
hearts, to the memory of private worth and friendship — to the un- 
feigned conviction of public calamity. But the very occasion of your 
grief imposes upon you a solemn duty. Not only is the dust of the 
illustrious dead confided to your keeping, but his character and reputa- 
tion are eutinisted to your guardianship, and to the justice with which 
you will transmit them to posterity. You were the supporters of him 
who faithfully represented you; you have become the representative of 
the principles which he illustrated and defended. To these you can 
become false, only by proving recreant to yourselves. In the crisis, 
whose issue we are now awaiting, your course will be jealously watched. 
You are engaged upon that side of a cause against which is arrayed the 
terrible power of arms, more diflicult to face than flaming batteries. 
Against you is directed the tremendous moral artillery of spurious phi- 
lanthropy and pretended zeal for the cause of justice and humanity. 
Beneath this specious mask, corrupt Ambition, phrenzied Fanaticism, 
insatiable Rapacity, and unprincipled Demagogueism, fiercely strive to 
excite against you the misguided sympathies and public opinion of the 
civilized world ; and impiously dare invoke the sacred name of Religion, 
to pollute her venerable and peaceful character, by perverting her sanc- 
tions to the mad and unholy crusade. If you are wanting now in the 
consistency of moral firmness; if, by faltering, you seem to imply a. 
doubt of the justice of your cause; if by rashness or passion you 
weaken the moral power which calm decision and unanimity must give, 



208 THE CAROLlxNA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

you will invite move insolent aggression, and your weakness and failure 
in the present crisis, will entail upon our cliildren — perhaps upon your- 
selves—the increased difficulties of a position in which all party dis- 
tinctions must be i^wallowed up, in a humiliating and desperate contest 
for liberty — for political existence itself. Wait not, then, for that com- 
pulsory xinion in an issue for your last hope of justice and equality; 
but here, around the coffin of that heroic dust, with the deep and 
solemn deliberation which this scene is calculated to inspire, vow in 
your inmost souls to bury all party rivalry and division, and to unite as 
fellow-citizens and brothers in your reasonable and unflinching mainte- 
nance of a cause which involves nothing less than your self-respect and 
your equitable participation in the rights of a Free Confederacy. And 
while thus uniting for a cavise of honor and justice, in the presence of 
the dead whose life was devoted to its defence, withhold not the highest 
tribute you can pay to his wisdom and counsels, by reliance upon the 
Divine Providence, whose sustaining hand he reverently recognized. 

People of the United States I in your service he expended his 
energies, and breathed out his life of unceasing activity and labor for 
the prosperity, honor, and peace of the Confederacy. If you revere 
his character and services, as an heir-loom of glory to our common 
country, listen to the voice of Reason and Justice, and maintain in its 
integrity the Constitution which he so justly expounded, and which, if 
weakened in its guaranties, it requires no prophet's voice to foretell the 
disasters which will ensue. 

Statesmen and Politicians! human wisdom is vain, if not di- 
rected according to revelation, and sustained by reliance upon God 
Mere temporizing policy can not reach the difficulties by which we are 
encompassed. Exhibit, then, that moral courage in support of consti- 
tutional rights, of which your distinguished compeer afforded an un- 
surpassed example; and remember, that the approval or hostility of 
constituents, can never establish or shake that peace of an approving 
conscience, which the public man can only hope to obtain by keeping 
his eye steadily fixed upon truth and justice, upon the tribunal of pos- 
terity, and above all upon the final approval of God. If deplorable 
results to the Confederacy must be met, as the issue of existing diffi- 
culties, awful will be your responsibility if selfish objects or popular 
clamor should move you from unfaltering maintenance of equity, and 
unyielding opposition to aggression. 

But our people will look to higher resources than human leaders. 
Justice will be their claim — Union will be their power — and the God 
of Truth and Equity will be their hope, their help, their guide, and 



miles' discourse. 209 

their triumpliant defence. But if the lessons which the wisdom and 
charactex' of the deceased statesman present be unheeded and lost, the 
possession of his monument which should constantly impress them, will 
prove a reproach to the people among whom it is reared. 

Could his honored voice now reach us from beyond the grave, he 
would raise its tones, invested with all the grandeur of immortality, to 
remind us that man is destined to be the citizen of an eternal polity — 
to commend to us those Holy Scriptures whose study he commended to 
his children — and to assure us that the only safety of States, and the 
only permanent support of individuals, are to be found in an adherence 
to the principles of Religion and obedience to the precepts of Revela- 
tion. This solemn pageantry of woe will pass — this noble grief of a 
high-minded people will become mellowed into a reverence for the dead, 
which will move us to imitate his deathless virtues; but the Eternal 
Record is true, and the inevitable Judgment is sure; and whether in 
the path of public service, or in the unobtrusive walks of private life, it 
is only a faithful embracing of the redemption of Christ, which will 
entitle the greatest or the humblest to hope that, in the eye of the 
Merciful God, his will be the epitaph, which, in gratitude for his ser- 
vices and virtues, we inscribe,.in a national sense upon the tomb of 
Calhoun — '' The memory of the just is blessed." 



14 



HENRY'S EULOGY. 



Eulogy on the late Hon. John Caldwell Calhoun, delivered at Columbia, 
South Carolina, on Thursday, May 16, 1850, by Robert Henry, D. D., Pro- 
fessor of Greek Literature in the South Carolina College. Published at the 
request of the Committee of Citizens. 

Fellow Citizens : Envy and forgetfulness have, too often, caused 
the greatest merit to be veiled in obscurity. On the other hand, the 
language of panegyric is not unfrequently prostituted with a view to 
confer factitious reputation on the weak, the vicious, or unworthy. It 
is fortunate, therefore, for the orator on the present occasion, that the 
subject of his Eulogy is, in all respects and in the highest degree, wor- 
thy of the applause and commendation, of the love and imitation of sur- 
vivors. If commanding intellect, lofty and ennobling enthusiasm, de- 
voted patriotism, sustained by unconquerable resolution and enduring 
self-denial, eventuating in the happiest results for the safety of the Re- 
public, and more especially in the preservation of the equality and in- 
dependence of our Southern communities, could entitle any man to the 
gratitude and veneration of his fellow-citizens, the name and character 
of John Caldwell Calhoun can never be obliterated from the rolls 
of fame. Indeed, the public voice, with one consent, has already so far 
outstripped the ordinary language of commendation, that whilst the 
speaker feels himself animated by the genuine elevation of his theme, 
he may yet, with propriety, entertain some apprehension that the exe- 
cution of his task will scarcely reach the level of public expectation. 
Throwing myself, therefore, on your indulgence, I shall endeavor to 
accomplish the duty assigned me, if not completely, at least with a deep 
sense of its importance, and with a sincere and cordial admiration of 
our illustrious Patriot, of whose character I have been an attentive ob- 
server, from the time when his fame was culminating towards its zenith, 
and attracting the admiring gaze of all beholders. 

Mr. Calhoun was born in our own State, and in the District of Abbe- 
ville, on the 18th of March, 1782. His father, Patrick Calhoun, a 
native of Donegal, in Ireland, accompanied his family in their emigra- 
tion first to Pennsylvania, and subsequently to western Virginia, and 
finally to South Carolina. His mother, from whom he derived the name 



henry's eulogy. 211 

of Caldwell, was a Virginian. The accident of birth, is a term appli- 
cable enough to the artificial distinctions, which political arrangements 
may, with equal facility, establish and discard. To have been preceded, 
however, in the race of life by progenitors, distinguished for high and 
enduring qualities of the head and heart, is not a fortuitous occurrence, 
but a benignant dispensation of Providence, not only to the individuals 
so distinguished, but also to the communities, who are destined, ulti- 
mately, to reap the advantages of their exalted worth. In the instance 
before us, the inflexible resolution ; the unwavering integrity of the 
father ; the gentle feelings and the unobtrusive piety of the mother, 
might at any time have been detected as marked lineaments in the 
character of their son. Independent of his relation to his illustrious 
descendant, the elder Calhoun, will never be forgotton in Upper Caro- 
lina, as the dauntless and successful champion of its equal rights and 
elective franchises. 

The early education of the younger Calhoun was any thing but reg- 
ular, even unfortunate, according to common apprehension. It is, how- 
ever, the august privilege of the highest order of intellect, either to find 
the road to distinction ready, or to make it. His instructor. Dr. Wad- 
dell, was deservedly eminent, and is entitled to the praise of having 
conducted the early training of some of the most remarkable characters 
whom South Carolina has produced. What he professed to do, he did 
well and effectually, and his scholar, in this instance, left him, at least 
well grounded in all the elementary branches of learning. Yet solitude 
and silence, afi"ording opportunity for calm reflection and for thoughts 
often revised and corrected, were the great preceptors of the embryo 
patriot and statesman. In the long absence of his regular instructor, 
his mind, struggling for development, met with the immortal work of 
Locke on the Human Understanding and found an atmosphere of 
thought in which his mind could freely breathe and expand its ener- 
gies. It was then, that his intellect was moulded into that type, which 
has sometimes been disparaged as metaphysical, but which, by whatever 
name designated or desecrated, must forever remain the true test, by 
which the highest order of capacity is distinguished from what is super- 
ficial and common. It was this stamp of thought, which fitted those 
twin lights of the ancient world, Plato and Aristotle, to become through 
all descending a^-es the Law<rivers of the Lawgivers of mankind. Such 
was Bacon ; such Hobbes; such Locke; such Montesquieu and Adam 
Smith, whose works must forever constitute the great armory, from 
which lesser minds constantly draw the brightest and keenest weapons, 
with which to assail error and sustain truth. 



212 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

So averse was his mind to every thing like a tame and self-satisfied 
mediocrity, that on some prospect of difficulty occurring in the prosecu- 
tion of his education for one of the learned professions, he had calmly 
made up his mind to live contented upon his scanty patrimony, as a 
planter, in preference to embracing pursuits, in which imperfect prepa- 
ration must forever preclude the hope of attaining to eminence. On 
the remonstrauces, however, of his elder brother, who early set an high 
estimate upon his talents, he consented to reconsider the matter ; yet 
with a coolness and intelligence, which even then strongly characterized 
him, he requested to know, whether the resources of his estate could be 
so arranged, as to secure him seven years of uninterrupted leisure for 
preparatory study. An answer in the affirmative being received and 
his mother's consent obtained, he at once entered upon his plan. In 
four years from this time, he became a graduate of high distinction at 
Yale. There the clearest auguries of his future renown were uttered by 
the President, Dr. Dwight, and reechoed, with enthusiasm, by all the 
young scholar's class fellows. Over the latter indeed, he never ceased, 
almost unconsciously, to preserve the influence which he then obtained. 
Many of his companions, who afterwards diff"ered widely from him in 
public afi'airs, yet felt themselves honored by their early association 
with one possessed of such unimpeached integrity, joined to command- 
ing intellect, and cultivated his friendship. The topic, which he 
selected for the subject of his Oration at Commencement, was the 
" qualifications necessary to constitute a perfect statesman." 

These be his arts, who in the forum seeks 
To curb the wills of men and duly aims 
The people with apt ligaments to bind ; 
Here the state Archimedes fix his foot, 
When with machines of Polity, Kingdoms 
He labors to impel, fierce nations moves, 
And on its yawning bases, shakes the world : 
Featly he conquers all, who rules the mind I* 

Nothing could present a more rational subject of curiosity, than there- 

* Translated from a poem by Radwell Bathurst in the 3Iusce Anglicance, en- 
titled, in Libellum V. CI. Tho. Hobbii De Natura Hoininis. 1650. 
" Has norit artes, quisquis in foro velit 
Animorum habenas flectere, et populos cupit 
Aptis ligatos nexibus jungi sibi. 
Hie Archimedes publicus figat pedem, 
Siquando regna machinis politicis 
Urgere satagit, et feras gentes ciet, 
Imisque motum sedibus mundum quatit : 
Facile domabit cuncta, qui Mcnti imperat!" 



henry's eulogy. 213 

covery of this composition, if it be yet in existence. It could hardly fail 
to mark, distinctly, "the boy as father of the man." There must have 
been there the elements of that high estimate of independence and equali- 
ty, of justice, truth and unaffected magnanimity, which were never absent 
from his character. From early life, he was a genuine disciple of the 
Academic School : The great men of our country, who had preceded 
him — Washington, Jefferson, Madison, all shared his veneration, but in 
the sanctuary of his heart, he worshipped nothing but truth. 

From College, he repaired to the Law School at Litchfield. Here, 
too, he soon became celebrated, especially for his skill in extempore 
speaking, which he cultivated with great assiduity. Afterwards, in 
Charleston, he enjoyed the instructions and official training of the late 
accomplished Chancellor DeSaussurc. With a view also to greater fa- 
miliarity with the routine of business, he passed some time in the office 
of Mr. Bowie, of Abbeville. With these arrangements, the period of 
study, which he had so sagaciously devised and so pertinaciously pur- 
sued, was concluded. He was soon after called to the Bar, and imme- 
diately ranked on a level with its most distinguished members. He 
probably now anticipated no other destiny, for a series of years, than 
increasing labors and augmenting emoluments, insunng the acquisition 
of wealth and the recognized honors of his profession. His continuauce 
at the B?r, was however, eventually, of short duration, for the finger of 
Providence seems to have marked him for a higher sphere. 

About this time the whole nation began to be agitated by the most 
angry feeling towards Great Britain, in consequence of the insults offered 
to our flag, and the spoliations practised on our commerce. At a 
public meeting at Abbeville, Mr. Calhoun was requested to draw up 
a Preamble and Resolutions, and to support them by a proper address. 
Such was his commanding success, that he was immediately nominated 
as a candidate for the Legislature, and subsequently elected a Member, 
at the head of the ticket. Throughout life, Mr. Calhoun studied 
deeply, estimated highly, and applauded with due discrimination, the 
institutions of England. His course, therefore, in the outset of his 
political career, was dictated neither by passion nor prejudice. His 
animated call to resistance arose out of the enthusiasm, which a careful 
study of her history had inspired. In his speech made in reply to 
Mr. Randolph, in 1811, he has happily expressed the attitude and 
balance of his mind. He says, " But the gentleman, in his eager ad- 
miration of England, has not been sufficiently guarded in his argument. 
Has he reflected on the cause of that admiration ? Has he examined 
the reasons for our high I'egard for her Chatham ? It is his ardent 



214 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

patriotism — liis heroic courage, which could not brook the least insult 
or injury offered to his country, but thought that her interest and her 
honor ought to be vindicated, be the hazard and expense what they 
might. I hope when we are called upon to admire, we shall also be 
asked to imitate. I hope the gentleman does not wish a monopoly of 
those great virtues to England." 

Mr. Calhoun served but two sessions in the State Legislature. 
Such, however, were the impressions left upon it by his clear and ener- 
getic intellect and manly enthusiasm, striking for the right, as in the 
long run, the truly expedient, that the spell of his influence over that 
body was never lost or weakened to the last hour of his life. He at 
once gave the whole weight of his talents and authority to the Repub- 
lican party, by strenuously advocating the election of Mr. Madison, as 
most likely to prevent distractions, and to concentrate the energies of 
the people for the mighty struggle, in which it was evident they must 
soon be ena-ased, with the hau2;htiest and most redoubtable nation of 
modern times. 

It may seem astonishing that one so young, without the adscititious 
aids of rank or fortune, should so suddenly emerge to eminence. Yet 
if he early imped his wings for the eagle's flight, he only followed the 
genuine impulses of his noble nature. Conscious of the internal force 
which sustained him, he eyed the noble quarry, his country's weal, and 
launched towards his object with a sustained and undiverted flight, 
regardless of distinction, but eager to compass his lofty end. Our in- 
stitutions awaken generous minds to the calls of ambition, by the facility 
with which the opportunity for distinction is conceded to all. Yet our 
illustrious statesman must not be mingled with- the herd of vulgar 
aspirants. He valued station as the means of multiplied usefulness, and 
of securing the success of his plans for improvement or reform. The 
proof is to be found in the fact, that when patronage was in his power, 
it was invariably assigned to merit, and apportioned to the degree of 
service among the competitors. Indeed, the rapidity of his ideas, and 
the clearness of their combination, left him no chance for dissimulation 
and intrigue. No matter what the subject might be, his thoughts flowed 
in upon him with the speed of lightning ; they were instantly marshalled 
under clear and irrefragable premises ; and pushed forward to their 
legitimate conclusions. The consequence was that he never had to 
abandon his principles, though as a matter of business, he might be 
obliged, practically, to accept the best compromise that he could obtain. 
His great effort through life, was to be himself; to be, what even envy 
now allows him to have been, fearless and consistent in what he knew 



henry's eulogy. 215 

to be right. From his first entrance into public life, and throughout 
his brilliant career he possessed that consolation, which the great Car- 
dinal of England was only privileged to feel, when ambition had taken 
its flight and left him " leisure to be good." At any time Mr. Calhoun 
might have said, with all the exactness of truth — 

"I know myself now ; and I feel within me 
A peace above all earthly dignities, 
A still and quiet conscience." 

His success in life never at any time depended upon the court which 
he paid to the people at large, to any man, however exalted, or to any 
body of men. During his term of service as a Representative in Con- 
gress, the Act establishing a fixed annual compensation to members, 
was passed and voted for by Mr. Calhoun. The measure proved in 
the highest degree unpopular, and extinguished the political importance 
of almost every man who had voted for it. A powerful opposition was 
organized against him in his District, and he was advised by friends to 
adopt a course at once soothing and apologetic. Such a course he, 
notwithstanding, absolutely refused to adopt, feeling, no doubt, like the 
great Socrates,* in not dissimilar circumstances, that it was ignoble and 
inappropriate to his character to be the instrument of casting the 
slightest shadow of suspicion over conduct which he had adopted as^ 
under all circumstances, correct and proper. On two several occasions, 
he addressed his constituents with all the calmness and self-possession 
of conscious innocence ; defended his course as absolutely right, and 
eventually had the satisfaction to find that nothing so certainly wins the 
esteem and affection of the people, as fortitude in the performance of 
duty, and an ingenious avowal of motive. The true basis of the most 
efi"ective eloquence will ever be found in the deep-seated, the unassail- 
able confidence, which is reposed in the speaker. This is the solid 
bullion, from which oratory derives its value ; art may mould it into 
new and graceful forms, but can never supply its place, where it is 
wanting. 

The observation has been so often repeated as to have become hack- 
neyed, that opportunities make men. It would, perhaps, be more 

* " Imitatus est homo Romanus (Rutilius) et consularis veterem ilium Socra- 
tera,-}- qui, quum omnium sapientissimus esset, sanctissimeque vixisset, ita in 
judicio capitis pro se ipse dixit, ntnon supplex aut reus, sed magister aut dominus 
videretur esse judicum." — De Orat. lib. i, c. 54. 

f ou^iV aSixov SiUYSyivriiiai ifoiCJv, rivifsg vofxi^w fjLsXsVriv sivai xaXXiVilv 
AvoXoyias. — Soc. Def. Xen. 4. Mem. iv. 8, 4. 



216 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

correct to say/ that only great men know the value of opportunities. 
Mr. Calhoun entered the arena of the national councils when the stress 
of mighty events was calculated to thrust him into prominence. The 
timid started at responsibility; the selfish were intent upon schemes of 
individual aggrandizement ; the grovelling listened only to suggestions 
of safety ; the manly elements were still waiting in abeyance for the 
advent of that electric flash of genius, which should force them into 
brilliant and energetic combination. Embargo, non-importation, non- 
intercourse — a kind of belligerent alteratives, had been long sapping 
the life of the patient, without in any degree counteracting the virulence 
of his disease. The people suffered under all the inconveniences of 
war, loss of trade, and the interruption of their regular pursuits, without 
any speedy prospect of relief, until the operations of their own govern- 
ment had become as hateful as the hostile measures of their foreio-n 
enemy. War, on the other hand, with all its horrors, has its compen- 
sations. It exercises all the forces, both intellectual and physical, of a 
great people ; the arts of life frequently make rapid strides to perfection 
under its exciting influences, and if it have its disasters and defeats, it 
is not unfrequently accompanied with and compensated by the triumphs 
of victory and the acquisition of renown. Various forms of restriction 
may have their timely use, as notes of preparation, but war alone con- 
vinces the unprincipled assailant that a nation is earnest ^in the defence 
of her rights. When it is considered that the greatest statesmen in 
the country were in favor of a temporizing policy, and that the greatest 
orators in Congress adopted the same course, under the severest sanctions 
of party discipline, it required no ordinary self-possession to steal a 
march upon their sujjineness, and occupy the most advanced position of 
responsibility. Not the smooth pebble from the brook, slung by the 
unerring hand of the youthful warrior, inspired more life into the hearts 
of desponding friends, and more certain trepidation into the spirit of 
their presumptuous foe, than did Mr. Calhoun's unblenched declara- 
tion, that his election was for war. At the magic recollections of Sara- 
toga, Princeton, and Eutaw, the nation felt the pulses of a new life, 
propagated to its remotest extremities. " Let mo not " said the orator, 
" be considered as romantic. This nation ought to be taught to rely on 
its courage, its fortitude, its skill and virtue for protection. These are 
the only safeguards in the hour of danger. Man was endued with these 
great qualities for his defence. There is nothing abovit him that indi- 
cates that he was to conquer by endurance. He is not encrusted in a 
shell ; he is not taught to rely upon his insensibility, his passive suffer- 
ing for defence. No, sir, it is on the invincible mind, on a magnani- 



henry's eulogy. 217 

mous nature he ought to rely. Hero is the superiority of our kind ; it 
is these that render man the lord of the world. It is the destiny of his 
condition, that nations rise above nations, as they are endued in a greater 
degree with these brilliant qualities." 

Mr. Calhoun's first effort derived no assistance from any station 
which he occupied. He was young and scarcely known, but this speech 
and the dauntless resolution which it inspired, at once assigned him his 
true position, by common consent. Though only second on the Militaiy 
Committee, he was in reality the main-spring of its movements. When, 
in the following year, its Chairman retired from Congress, he succeeded 
him in that position. Nor was he in the least pertinacious upon matters 
of mere precedence, for, when at the subsequent Session, the speaker 
felt embarrassed in assigning prominent positions to the numerous dis- 
tinguished men from our State, Mr. Calhoun, as the youngest, at once 
requested to be postponed, and that a member from another State might 
be assigned as the head of the Committee on which he was placed. 
The gentleman so honored, declined acceptance with great magnani- 
mity, notwithstanding Mr. Calhoun's repeated assurances that ho 
would serve under him with great pleasure Mr. Calhoun, on ballot, 
was unanimously elected. So when his friend and colleague, Mr. Cheves, 
was proposed as a candidate to fill the Speaker's Chair, Mr. Calhoun, 
though earnestly solicited by many, absolutely refused to have his name 
mentioned upon the occasion. Yet this was the man who was after- 
wards calumniated as cherishing a vaulting ambition which could brook 
no superior. 

During the whole of the war with Great Britain, Mr. Calhoun was 
the great spirit who directed the storm. His courage never quailed 
even at the period when, by the downfall of Napoleon and the pacifica- 
tion of Europe, our great enemy, flushed with success, was left with the 
means and the opportunity of directing all his energies against us. 
" Our enemy " said he, " never presented a more imposing exterior. 
His fortune is at the flood. But I am admonished by universal experi- 
ence, that such prosperity is the most precarious of human conditions. 
From the flood the tide dates its ebb. From tlie meridian the sun 
commences his decline. Depend upon it, there is more of sound philo- 
sophy than of fiction in the fickleness which poets attribute to fortune. 
Prosperity has its weakness ; adversity its strength. In many respects 
our enemy has lost by these changes which seem so very much in his 
favor. He can no more claim to be struggling for existence ; no more 
to be fighting the battles of the world, in defence of the liberties of 
mankind." Never was political prophecy more amply verified. In a 



21S THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

few short months from the time it was uttered, the veterans who had 
marched ahnost in continual triumph from Lisbon to Paris, were des- 
tined at New Orleans to resign the palm of victory into the hands of 
troops that had never frequented the tented field, nor felt their spirits 
stirred by the glorious concourse of arms. From behind the darkest 
clouds of adversity, the star of our country burst forth in more than its 
pristine effulgence. From that day the United States ceased to have 
merely a putative rank among the great family of nations. It was now 
felt that she had a right to speak, and speaking, she must be heard. 
If such be now their estimation and exalted place among the nations, 
is there any man who has more contributed to the glorious result than 
Carolina's illustrious son ? In all great undertakings, the first success- 
ful step is the harbinger of those which follow, and he who takes it, 
secures a distinction from which no subsequent chance can eject him. 
When we survey the vast domain that stretches in boundless magnifi- 
cence from the Atlantic to the Pacific, teeming with ever-multiplying 
hosts of men, happy and contented, and able to defend and adorn the 
rich inheritance, let us never forget what is due to him, who in the 
darkest hour of our country's peril, predicted the brilliancy of the future 
prospect, and rallied the hearts and nerved the arms of his compatriots 
to achieve the noble destiny. 

Peace being happily restored, Mr. Calhoun took a leading part in 
all the measures necessary to restore the nation, without fear of collapse 
to her ordinary position, by the restoration of the finances to a healthy 
condition, and by the salvation of those great interests which had started 
up under the unnatural excitement of war. The currency of the country 
was rotten through all its vast and overshadowing ramifications. What 
individuals, if left to themselves, could never have effected, was mar- 
vellously accomplished by the multiplication of corporate credit, and 
promises to pay were generated in such reckless profusion, that it seemed 
almost madness to dreaj^ of liquidation. Mr. Calhoun saw plainly 
that th,9. revival of commerce, and the renewal of our intercourse with 
forei^jpl-s, must in a very short time bring the whole system to a halt. 
Our own citizens might be satisfied in the receipt of such exchanges as 
the circulation of domestic products furnished, but foreigners could only 
be satisfied by liquidating their balances in the currency of the world. 
Correction, he saw, could only come from the application of force ex- 
traneous to the system ; and he proposed to apply a compression string- 
ent enough to restore the elasticity of its materials, but not powerful 
enough to crush them. He gave his consent and support, therefore, to 
the formation of the Bank, in connection with the reception and distri- 



henry's eulogy. 219 

bution of the Government funds, not as abstractedly the best scheme, 
but as the best which the country could bear. The chartering of this 
institution is, perhaps, the only instance in which a keen perception of 
the value and jealous guardianship of State Rights may be said to have 
forsaken him. The friends of strict construction have always contended 
that, as the creation of a corporation is the highest act of sovereignty, 
if it be not contained, which it is not, among the enumerated powers, 
it could never be permitted to pass as an incident to the powers granted. 
This vast fiscal machine proved itself unworthy of the high confidence 
reposed in it, and, after numerous shocks and perilous escapes, reached 
the term of its existence, having precipitated the finances of the country 
into a more frightful depth of destruction, than that in which it origin- 
ally found them. Whilst its rottenness remained concealed, Mr. Cal- 
houn defended its rights, and even favored the renewal, for a short 
period, of its charter, with a view to the gradual and final liquidation of 
its afi'airs. As soon, however, as the failure of the scheme and the 
greatness of the ruin became apparent, Mr. Calhoun, whilst he felt 
the impossibility of correcting past mistakes, gave his whole energies to 
the. support of the only plan by which future disasters could be avoided. 
In allusion to Mr. Rives' proposal of substituting the State Banks as 
depositories of the public funds, he observed : " Nor ought he to be 
surprised that those who joined him in the first, [experiment in 1836,] 
should be rather shy of trying the experiment again, after having been 
blown into the air, and burned and scalded by the explosion." 

Mr. Calhoun's course, on the subject of the Tariff of 1816, has 
often been grossly misrepresented, as if he had first been an advocate 
of the American system and then abandoned it. That Tariff" was 
strictly a fiscal measure, intended to meet the current expenses of the 
Government, and to provide a fund for the extinguishment of the 
national debt. In pursuing the latter of these objects, there were 
plainly two feasible methods, either to subject the public resources to 
the least possible burden, by distributing the amount over a very long 
series of years, or by a rapid process of extinguishment, to remove the 
weight from off" the shoulders of the nation, and leave it, at once, free 
and untrammelled in the development of its wealth and power. The 
slower process would have left room for intermediate projects, involving 
immense outlays and eventuating in an indefinite postponement of the 
redemption of the public faith. New wars might thus arise and find 
us laboring under the undiminished pressure of former misfortunes or 
extravagancies. The rapid extinction of the public indebtedness was 
surely a requisition of correct statesmanship, fraught, when viewed 



220 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

simply upon its own merits, witli every prospect of advantage to tlie 
country at large. Whilst arranging the plan, Mr. Calhoun rejoiced 
that, incidentally, vested interests, which had conferred incalculable 
benefits upon the community, at a time when they were greatly needed, 
would be sustained and preserved for future usefulness. Soon after 
this adjustment, he quitted Congress to engage in the Executive De- 
partment of the Government. His commanding position now gave 
him an ample opportunity of estimating the aims and tendencies of 
what was then habitually obtaining the appellation of the American 
system. He saw the inequality of its operation, and its utter destitu- 
tion of all foundation of right, either in the letter or the spirit of the 
constitution. I have heard him say, that after returning home in 
1816, upon a relation and near neighbor suggesting to him, that some 
objection had been made to his course, he replied that he regarded the 
measure as a fiscal one — that as a system the thought had never even 
crossed his mind, and should never enlist his support. 

Whilst pursuing his striking career as a member of Congress, pos- 
sessing at once the admiration and confidence of the entire Union, he 
was selected by the new President, at the formation of his Cabinet, to 
take the direction of the War Department. In estimating the value to 
be attached to this appointment, it must be recollected, that the affairs 
of the War Ofiice were in a state of great confusion, and demanded a 
thorough and searching reform, and that it was a leading rule with Mr. 
Monroe, in selecting his coadjutors, never to appoint any man, with 
respect to whom the humblest citizen might have to ask — " Who is he ?" 
This promotion was received without the slightest solicitation and was 
quite unexpected. Mr. Calhoun's friends rather advised against his 
acceptance of it, on account of its crushing responsibility, and from the 
fact that he was at that time utterly unacquainted with the requisite 
military details. In such matters friends may advise, and their com- 
munications may be very available elements in the formation of a cor- 
rect judgment, but at last a man of genius is the fittest estimator of 
his own powers. When feeble minds survey a stretch of difiiculties, 
each one makes its separate impression by tale and weight. But the 
commanding intellect, separates them into squadrons, and knows that 
when two or three are vanquished, the rest vanish spontaneously. Mr. 
Calhoun resolved to direct the best energies of his mind to the task 
assigned him. In doing so, he commenced in a manner strikingly 
characteristic of the man. Instead of a stately air and imperious 
habits, which would have been a signal to his agents to withhold all 
information from liim ; instead of wordy promises and abortive, because 



henry's eulogy. 221 

ill-considered efforts, witli a view to popular and ephemeral applause, 
he, for the first few months, adopted the course of a " masterly inac- 
tivity." His eye was everywhere ; his ear constantly open; his atten- 
tion and observation in continual exercise, whilst his genial temper and 
bland but inartificial manners, invited and secured confidence. Details 
in great number and variety in this way became familiar, and his sub- 
sequent generalizations, were not vapid abstractions, but tallied with 
the true state of facts, and at once met and provided for the exigencies 
of the public service. A judicious economy, a severe system of ac- 
countability, and a constant intelligence with the department, were the 
chief means relied upon for success. The consequence was, that a 
complete synopsis of all the transactions of the army might have been 
furnished at any moment. Universal satisfaction prevailed, and it is 
not too much to say, that no superintendent of our military affairs, 
either before or since, has ever afforded more gratification to all em- 
ployed under him. The new Secretary's plans had no trace of servile 
imitation in them, yet were devised and carried through with such 
ability, that a general officer, who had been high in favor with Napo- 
leon, observed that he had known no man, who, in the rapidity and 
certainty of his combinations, so much resembled his ancient patron, as 
Mr. Calhoun. 

In the medical staff of the army he also instituted a plan for the 
collection of the statistics of temperature, climate, and diseases, which 
have led to many valuable inferences that a physician of merit has 
since placed before the world in a permanent form. 

The Academy at West Point, also, shared largely in his fostering 
care. Its course of studies was reformed and enlarged; classes wore 
permanently fixed, and no promotion from a lower to a higher class per- 
mitted, until the requisitions of the former were complied with. The 
ablest instructors were engaged, their authority sustained, and they 
required to transmit to the Department a regular and faithful account 
of the conduct and progress of every pupil. It is now admitted, even 
by foreigners, not favorably disposed towards our institutions, to be one 
of the most efl&cient military schools which any country can boast of. 
Indeed, the triumph of our arms, recently achieved in Mexico, abun- 
dantantly attests the scientific attainments and the high efiiciency of its 
pupils, when in actual service. 

Time rolled on, and the commencement of Mr. Monroe's second 
term having been entered upon, it was natural for the country to dis- 
cuss the merits of those who were conceived fit to succeed him. There 
was, in Pennsylvania, a very warm feeling in favor of Mr. Calhoun, 



222 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

whilst, in Carolina, many were anxious to liave the claims of Mr. 
Lowndes considered. Without the privity of either, their respective 
friends, according to the bent of their predilections, nominated the one 
or other for the high station. Between the two the kindest feelings 
and the hio-hest estimate of each other's character had long subsisted. 
Mr. Calhoun, as rather the younger, made the first advance towards 
the removal of this awkward dilemma, by assuring his rival of his utter 
previous ignorance of the proposed nomination, and by requesting that 
the whole proceeding should create no change in their friendly rela- 
tions. Ambition is generally so rank in its appetite and so oblivious of 
the calls of magnanimity, that the conduct pursued by these two favo- 
rite sons of our State, on this occasion, affords a touching spectacle of 
disinterested patriotism. It is cheering to reflect, that their friendship 
never suffered the slightest diminution. 

It is to be regretted, for the cause of sound principles, that the rivalry 
between Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Crawford did not settle down into like 
harmony. Educated together, there had always existed between them 
a certain degree of emulation not inconsistent with strong attachment. 
Mr. Crawford had, at the last election for President, been brought for- 
ward by his friends on a caucus nomination. As Chairman of the 
Committee on Foreign Relations, Mr. Calhoun had had frequent in- 
tercourse with Mr. Monroe, who was Secretary of State under Mr. 
Madison. The greater age, the revolutionary claims and the long public 
service of Mr. Monroe, had made him prominent, and he was regarded 
as in the legitimate line of the succession. That under all the circum- 
stances, Mr. Calhoun should have conceived a high degree of attach- 
ment for Mr. Monroe, and have regarded his elevation to power with 
approbation, can afford no ground of censure to any reasonable man. 
In addition, he had always expressed himself as opposed to caucus 
nominations. He regarded them as filching from the people the highest 
and most animating privilege, which, by the Constitution, they had re- 
served to themselves. By a corrupt understanding also among party 
managers, it followed, as a necessary result, that all the great ofiicers of 
the Government were designated beforehand. 

Popular enthusiasm in Pennsylvania having been strongly demon- 
strated to be in favor of General Jackson, Mr. Calhoun very readily 
acquiesced in the withdrawal of his name by his friends. Being, how- 
ever, subsequently adopted both by the partizans of General Jackson 
and Mr. Adams, as their candidate for Vice President, he was elected 
with little opposition. 

Mr. Calhoun was never without misgivings of the propriety of ad- 



henry's eulogy. 223 

vancing to the highest station in the land, one whose merits, though of 1 
the highest order, were purely military. Yet, so far as he had given 
any indication of opinion, the hero of New Orleans always professed 
himself to be a disciple of the school of Jefferson — a rigid construction- 
ist and a great advocate of economy and retrenchment. On the other 
hand, Mr. Adams was known to favor the most latitudinarian construc- 
tion, and to regard the ''general welfare " as the one comprehensive 
and essential clause of our federal compact. In the event, each disap- 
pointed public expectation. Mr. Adams, in practice, was comparatively ^ 
moderate and economical, whilst General Jackson pushed the Presiden- ' 
tial prerogative to an extent, which laughed all responsibility to scorn. 
His first term of service exhibited an unhesitating abandonment of his 
best friends and an unblushing canvass for re-election. Towards the 
end of his term of service the Government had become the same with 
that of Rome under Octavius — the forms of freedom were speciously 
observed, where no present exigency tempted to a violation of them, 
but in reality the empire had found a master. 

When sectional legislation and practical disregard of all principle 
had reached this unhappy eminence, Mr. Calhoun saw, at a glance, 
that the expectation of reform through the ballot-box was desperate. 
The people were literally fascinated with the military features of an 
administration, in which will had succeeded to the place of law. Tried 
by any standard of enlightened policy, it was a satire upon free institu- 
tions. The liquidation of the National debt was the avowed motive for 
enormous taxation ; almost equal in amount to one-half the exports of 
the country, and when it was found that this excuse was rapidly vanish- 
ing, the still more monstrous proposition of distributing the surplus 
revenue began to be agitated. In all the annals of human infatua- 
tion and misgovernment, there is nothing on record to equal this. 
Cromwell's taxation, the first of protective systems, was so managed as 
to stimulate, perhaps unwisely, the development of British resources, 
but every farthing of it was necessary to meet the expenditures of the 
country. For the last fifty years, the greatest minds of all nations, 
Turgot and Adam Smith and Franklin had been occupied in demon- 
strating, that a country never flourishes so much, as when all restric- 
tions upon industry and competition are removed, and men, for success, 
are commended to their own unshackled energies, but, as if to show 
how small the wisdom, which usually presides over the affairs of nations, 
America gathers up the cast off rags of European policy, and feels 
dazzled and delighted with the supposed splendor of her political 
apparel. 



224 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

South Carolina, from generous motives, had tolerated tlie Tariff of 
181G, but every fresh impost, after that, met with her decided opposi- 
tion and protest. She had not bargained for the semblance of inde- 
pendence, but the substance, and that the forms of law were observed, 
whilst intolerable burdens were heaped upon her, she held to be no alle- 
viation, but only the addition of insult to injury. So early as 1820, the 
House of Representatives of South Carolina affirmed the principle of 
Free Trade, but declined embarrassing the action of Congress, in what 
seemed to be intended for the regulation of Commerce. In 1825, both 
branches of our Legislature, denounced as unconstitutional, all duties 
levied for the purpose of protecting domestic manufactures. In 1827, 
the Legislature again, in a very able memorial, reaffirmed the whole 
subject of State Rights and a limited interpretation of the Constitution, 
and specially denounced the Tariff of Protection as unconstitutional, 
and so instructed our Senators in Congress. In 1828, there was a very 
energetic and eloquent Protest, accompanied by instructions. To these. 
Resolutions were appended, in which it is boldly announced, " That 
the measures to be pursued, consequent on the perseverance in this sys- 
tem, are purely questions of expediency and not of allegiance. Simul- 
taneous with these, there was read and ordered to be printed, an Expo- 
sition of singular ability, known to have proceeded from the pen of Mr. 
Calhoun. In it, the iniquitous operation of the Tariff for protection, 
is exposed with profound ability, and yet most dispassionately argued. 
The document, however, is still more remarkable for its correct estimate 
of liberty, and the safeguards necessary to secure it, and for its lucid 
development of the practical working of the Constitution. '' Liberty," it 
is there strongly urged, '' comprehends the idea of resjionsible power, that 
those who make and execute the laws should be controlled by those on 
whom they operate, that the governed should govern." ***** 

* * <^ In fact, the abuse of delegated power, and the tyranny of the 
greater over the lesser interests of society, are the two great dangers, 
and the only two, to be guarded against ; and if ihei/ be effectually 
guarded, liberty must be eternal." ****** 
"No government, based upon the naked principle that the majority 
ought to govern, however true the maxim in its proper sense, and under 
proper restrictions, ever preserved its liberty for a single generation." 

* * * * * * "Those governments only, which 
provide checks, which limit and restrain within proper bounds the power 
of the majority, have had a prolonged existence, and been distinguished 
for virtue, power and happiness. Constitutional government, and the 
government of a majority are utterly incompatible, it being the sole 



henry's eulogy. 227 

free aud strong euougli to sustain the burden, or to hurl it again into 
confusion and chaos. Was not his moderation as remarkable as his 
merit ? 

In the summer of 1831, Mr. Calhoun put forth a very able address, 
on the subject of the relations, which the State and General Govern- 
ment bear to each other. It is a very powerful paper, and fixed the 
political faith of many, who, till then, had been unable to decide for 
themselves. It was, however, superseded in its importance, by another, 
addressed to General Hamilton, in which the whole subject was resumed 
and advanced to the consideration of the remedy in State interposition 
and nullification. It is an able didactic composition, close and compact 
in its arrangement, presenting a masterly synopsis of the fundamental 
principles of free government. It is chiefly remarkable for the perspi- 
cacity and vigor with which it demonstrates the vast importance of 
checks aud balances in every form of popular polity. Under the desio-. 
nations of the absolute and concurring majorities, he traces the oscilla- 
tions of power, and shows how, by a combination of diiferent materials 
in the prime mover, and a well calculated antagonism in their forces, 
the motion of the entire machinery may be rendered equable and per- 
manent. The whole exhibits the developments of a mind long familiar 
with the aptest precedents both of ancient and modern times. Speak- 
ing of the two great adjusting principles before referred to, he observes — 
"Of this modification the British and Spartan governments are by far 
the most remarkable and perfect examples. In others the rioht of 
acting — of making and executing the laws, was vested in one interest, 
and the right of arresting or nullifying in another. Of this description 
the Roman Government is much the most striking instance. In others, 
the right of originating or introducing projects of laws was in one and 
of enacting them in another : as at Athens, before its government de- 
generated, where the Senate proposed, and the General Assembly of 
the people enacted laws." 

It is impossible to resist quoting the following paragraph, in which 
the brightest rays of his mind appear to be drawn to a focus of the ut- 
most intensity of light and heat. " Two powers," he remarks, "are 
necessary to the existence and preservation of free States : a power on 
the part of the ruled to prevent rulers from abusing their authority, by 
compelling them to be faithful to their constituents, and which is eff'ected 
through the right of suifrage; and a power to compel the parts of society 
to he just to one another, hy compelliwj them to consult the interest of 
each other, which can only be efi"ected, whatever may be the device for 
the purpose, by requiring the concurring assent of all the great and dis- 



228 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN, 

tinct interests of tlie community to the measures of the government. 
This result is the sum total of all the contrivances adopted by fi*ee 
States to preserve their liberty, by preventing the conflicts between the 
several parts or classes of the community. Both powers are indispensa- 
ble. The one as much so as the other. The rulers are not more dis- 
posed to encroach on the ruled, than the different interests of the com- 
munity on one another, nor would they more certainly convert their 
power from the just and legitimate objects for which governments are 
institued into an instrument of aggrandizement, at the expense of the 
ruled, unless made responsible to their constituents, than would the 
stronger interests theirs, at the expense of the weaker, unless compelled 
to consult them in the measures of the government, by taking their 
separate and concurriug assent. The same cause operates in both cases. 
The constitution of our nature, which would impel the rulers to oppress 
the ruled, unless prevented, would in like manner, and with equal force, 
impel the stronger to oppress the weaker interest. To vest the right of 
government in the absolute majority, would be in fact, hut to emhody 
the will of the stronger interest, in the operations of the government, and 
not the will of the lohole community, and to leave the others unprotected, 
a prey to its amhition and cupidity, just as would be the case, between 
rulers and ruled, if the right to govern was vested exclusively in the 
hands of the former. They would both be, in reality, absolute and des- 
potic governments: the one as much so as the other." 

From the earliest records of their colonial history, down to the present 
time, the people of South Carolina have shown themselves little dis- 
posed to tolerate the abuses of government. They wrested the reins of 
power from the incompetent hands of the proprietary rulers, by a very 
high-handed revolution. To the royal authority, they for a half a cen- 
tury submitted with a devotion which might have been almost denom- 
inated filial. The moment, however, that it became apparent that ad- 
vantage was about to be taken of this state of things to evacuate the 
principles of the Constitution, indignation and defiance were substitued 
for loyalty and obedience. Brought into existence, almost simultane- 
ously with the great Revolution of 1688, her notions were all in favor 
of regulated liberty ; not the comet-like coruscation, which starts in 
madness from its sphere, but maintaining a well ascertained orbit, im- 
pressed upon her, alike by the dictates of freedom and the demands of 
subordination. ]Mr. Calhoun, born on the soil and nurtured in early 
life, amidst the inspiring associations of a revolution, whose success had 
been cemented by the blood of his relatives and family connections, 
knew the cost of independence, and felt that it could not be perpetuated 



henry's eulogy. 229 

by mere parcliment stipulations, but by the intelligence and dauntless 
resolution of those who had inherited it. All the due preliminaries of 
conflict, explanation, remonstrance, entreaty, protest, having been ex- 
hausted, he felt, that some decided form of action was necessary to con- 
vince our antagonists that we were in earnest. The enactment of the 
iniquitous Tariff of 1832, in the face of so many calls and reasons for 
forbearance, with the Treasury full to overflowing, and wild schemes of 
distribution afloat, seemed to announce the knell of freedom, and em- 
phatically to proclaim the will of the majority and not the Constitution 
to be the law of the land. To this was joined the kindly memento of 
the President, of an earlier date, that among his "hish and sacred du- 
ties" Avas the exercise of coercion, should the common-wealth prove 
refractory. The Legislature of the State being specially convened by 
Governor Hamilton, resolved upon the call of a Convention, the highest 
earthly authority known to the people of South Carolina, and the legiti- 
mate success-or of that by which the Constitution had been adopted. 
The Convention pronounced the whole system of a Tariff for protection, 
to be fatal to the prosperity/ of the people of the State, and a yross, de- 
liberate and p>aJpahle violation of their Constitutional riyhts. This was 
immediately followed by an address to the State, in which the Conven- 
tion declared : "We have solemnly resolved upon the course, which it 
becomes our beloved State to pursue — we have resolved that until these 
abuses be reformed, No more taxes shall he paid here. ''Millions for 
defence, but not a cent for tribute." They concluded with a religious 
appeal, in a tone of the profoundest reverence — and with the solemn 
injunction to their fellow-citizens, "Do your duty to your country and 
leave the consequences to God !" 

General Hayne having been designated as successor to the Chief 
Magistracy of the State, resigned his situation as Senator in Congress. 
Mr. Calhoun was immediately appointed to the vacant office, and 
though it was seen to be one of imminent peril and vast responsibility, 
resigned, with great self-sacrifice, the Vice Presidency of the Union, in 
order to sustain his own principles now become the voice of the State. 
From that period, so completely was he rivetted in the affections of the 
people that his voice and that of the people were one. Thenceforth, 
politics and parties, within the State, were scarcely heeded by him. 
All the energies of the man were directed to the accomplishment of 
the reforms which he knew to be necessary to the preservation and per- 
manence of the Union. For that Union, in the use of its legitimate 
powers, with all its associations of glory and renown, derived from its 
past achievements, and all its prospects for the future development of 



230 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

its immense physical, mental and moral resources, no man entertained a 
hio-her or inteuser admiration than he. It was the great arena in which 
his own reputation and renown had- reached that palmy height, which 
was the envy of many and the admiration of all. In addition to the 
working out of their own happy destiny, he hoped to see the United 
States affording the other nations of the world a model of rational and 
permanent liberty. His feelings were now intensely wound up, in re- 
ference to his double task of saving the Union and rescuing the country 
at large, from the most deplorable doom that can await a nation — the 
triumph of irresponsible power. At this time, during a short stay 
which he made in Columbia, I called upon him and found him alone. 
He never appeared in better health, nor calmer and more self-possessed. 
On my mentioning the report, which extensively prevailed, that the 
President intended to have him arrested as soon as he arrived in Wash- 
ington, he replied with a smile on his countenance, but with perfect 
dignity: "It will not be dune; my opponents are too politic to attempt 
it, but as far as myself and the cause are concerned, I should desire 
nothing better; it would set people a thinking." On his arrival at the 
seat of government, he took the earliest opportunity, from his place in 
the Senate, to re-affirm his principles, and oifered a series of resolu- 
tions, in which they were succinctly and forcibly embodied. He thus 
obtained a hearing, and if his views were attacked, the privilege of 
reply. Mr. Webster wished Mr. Calhoun to precede him in the 
debate on the Force Bill, and carried his point, but having also inci- 
dentally touched upon the resolutions, Mr. Calhoun in his rejoinder 
so completely established the basis of his doctrine, that his magnani- 
mous antagonist was obliged to admit, that if the historical facts, con- 
cerning the origin and progress of the Constitution, were as had been 
stated, that it was impossible to escape the conclusion. Mr. Clay wil- 
lingly lent himself to the work of compromise, and Mr. Calhoun, 
anxious only for the restoration of sound principles, was willing to allow 
very moderate rates of reduction, operating through a long series of 
years. Even in undoing, what had been badly done, Mr. Calhoun 
was unwilling to crush the private citizen, who had been beguiled into 
hazardous enterprizes by the irregular action of his rulers. Indeed, to 
his wise and prophetic mind, a dissolution of the Union was one of the 
o-reatest evils and second only to that of submission to the fiat of an 
uncontrolled majoiity. Never was there a more cheering proof of what 
a single exalted mind, of competent ability, can effect for the preserva- 
tion of liberty. Only a few short months after the most vexatious of 
imposts had been laid with a reckless hand, the whole grievance, so far 



henry's eulogy. 231 

as related to the possibility of future action, was removed. The Force 
Bill, on whicli Mr. Calhoun's admirable effort has been already no- 
ticed, was indeed past, but it was only the surly snarl of the mastiff, 
when his prey has escaped. If fighting had been the object, South 
Carolina was prepai-ed, at all points, for the conflict ; but she saw plainly 
that in a polity, which was understood to be founded upon the consent 
of the governed, the moment coercion became necessary to retain any 
member in the Union, the system became a shapeless abortion. She 
was determined not to assume the responsibility before the world of 
dissipating all the animating hopes which rallied around this hitherto 
successful experiment in self-government. Along with the acceptance . 
of the compromise act, by the Convention, the Force Bill ceased to be 
of the slightest significance. As soon as things were happily adjusted 
at Washington, Mr. Calhoun hastened to Carolina, with the utmost 
expedition, in order that the State might not be without the influence 
of his moderation and calm judgment. That the Union is safe, and 
that our scheme of regulated liberty continues to flourish, is more 
owing, under Providence, to Mr. Calhoun, than to all other causes 
put together. Indeed, up to the latest period of his existence, he 
never failed to warn the young and inexperienced, not rashly to discard 
SD rich an inheritance. He maintained, that whatever might be the 
just causes of discontent, and whatever the acrimony of our struggles 
to remove them, we, in the United States, at last enjoyed more true 
happiness, than any other country of the globe. 

Time would fail us, should we attempt even the most cursory glance 
at all the important discussions in which Mr. Calhoun took a part 
for the next ten years. The most remarkable of these were on the 
Sub-Treasury ; the Distribution Bill ; the Treaty of Washington ; and 
the Oregon Bill. With regard to Oregon, his plan of policy would 
have consisted in continuing the treaty for joint occupation, and for 
the rest, to be content with a " masterly inactivity." To use his own 
words: '-There is often in the affairs of government, more efiiciency 
and wisdom in non-action than in action," Pretenders in all profes- 
sions, we may add, rush into action vipon alF occasions, because they 
have no rule of right within themselves. They selfishly hope that a 
momentary success may answer the demands of their own vanity or cu- 
pidity. They discourse blandly of the wants and expectations of the 
public, but the sagacious know that they mean only themselves. Ac- 
cordingly, the whole afi"air was abandoned to popular enthusiasm, which 
soon produced a crisis, attended with a commercial pressure, caused by 
the fear of a protracted war, with our most valuable customer. iMr. 



232 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

Calhoun felt that justice was as much a cardinal virtue among na- 
tions as amoni^- men. Of a property long held in common, he knew 
that it was in vain to set up a claim which covered nearly the whole of 
it. In opposition to all party clamor, he contended for an equitable 
adjustraeut — one which a great nation might accede to without loss of 
honor. Upon this basis a treaty was at last concluded, in which both 
countries have entirely acquiesced. This whole transaction afforded a 
remarkable proof of the correct and exalted rules of action, whiqh 
invariably influenced the conduct of this great man. When England 

"did bestride the narrow world 
Like a Colossus" — 

trampling the rights of unoffending and defenceless nations under foot, 
he felt that America should make no other answer to insult than a 
cartel of defiance. But when peace had been restored and long friend- 
ship ripened into habit, and where the difficulty involved no great prin- 
ciple, to rush on M'ar, with all its hazards and all his horrors, appeared 
to him, not magnanimity, but madness. 

Towards the close of Mr. Tyler's administration, Mr. Calhoun con- 
sented to accept a place in his Cabinet, purely with a view to carry 
through the negotiations for the annexation of Texas. They could, 
with propriety, be entrusted to no other agency than that of a Southern 
statesman, and he strong enough to sustain the act before the nation 
and the world. The appointment gave universal satisfaction, and the 
success, which attended it, confirmed the opinion of the wisdom that 
dictated it. Latterly there had been but little sympathy on public 
measures between the President and the new Secretary, but there was 
one tie which had prevented separation from being transformed into 
alienation. Calhoun could never forget, Carolina could never forget, 
that, when in the Senate of the United States, her principles were 
stigmatized as treason, and herself driven to the wall, John Tyler was 
the only man, not of her soil, who boldly avowed his adhesion to them. 

As had been predicted by some, the annexation of Texas involved 
the nation in a war with Mexico. Mr. Calhoun thought the event 
possible, but not probable, if subsequent proceedings were inspired 
with prudence and moderation. At a later period, he contended that 
the mere crossing of the Del Norte, and the effort to occupy territory 
of which Mexico had never consented to divest herself, was not a cause 
of war. We had grounds to resist her entrance into or to drive her 
from territory which we held under color of right, but that we pur- 
sued an indefensible course, when, without causes transcending the 



henry's eulogy. 233 

limits of negotiation, and without a previous declaration of war, we in- 
vaded her soil, sacked her cities and slaughtered her defenceless inhab- 
itants. Her weakness, he thought, shovild have pleaded as an addi- 
tional cause of forbearance. Hatred of oppression and wrong; contempt 
for all subterfuge and indirectness of conduct, were the very instincts 
of his nature : He was a lively exemplification of the profound truth, 
uttered long ago by a French writer of depth and acuteness, ''great 
thoughts come from the heart."* 

On no subject have Mr. Calhoun's views been less undei'stood; 
with respect to none, was he more exposed to the wanton attacks of 
calumny and vituperation, than on the subject of our peculiar institu- 
tions. His perspicacity was too searching ; his readings of history too 
ample; his appreciation of the nature of language too accurate to permit 
him to bandy in argument such terms as "best" and "worst," as if 
they carried an absolute meaning. He knew that they were relative — 
I'elative to some previous state of things, to some other condition of 
existence. He held that in most instances, the government of every 
people was only a reflexion of its actual physical, moral and industrial 
condition — that to attempt a republic in Hindostau, would be as boot- 
less as to proclaim a monarchy iu the United States. Equality of po- 
litical rights pre-supposes equality of condition — if mental indepen- 
dence and property be generally diffused, you may expect to rear a 
fabric of government, whose movements may be generated and perpetu- 
ated from its own internal energies. On the other hand, if the minds 
of the mass be yielding and prostrate, timid and unenterprizing, their 
spring of action must be derived from without. Unless the previous 
elements be supplied, you may proclaim the forms of freedom, but you 
will only evolve a subtler and more desolating phasis of despotism. He 
held it to be a "mistake so often and so fatally repeated, that to expd 
a chspot is to establish liberty — a mistake to which we may trace the 
failure of many noble and generous efforts in favor of liberty. He, 
therefore, looked rather with apprehension than hope, upon the revolu- 
tionary mania which has assailed the ancient institutions of Europe, 
within the last few years. He saw plainly that the human condition 
must be rather deteriorated than improved, when anarchy is substituted 
for subordination. He did not believe, that by any declaration of 
liberty, however solemn or grandilofjuent, you can make men free, unless 
they have been prepared by a long and practical training. 3Ien look 
with envy and desire upon the happy exemption from shackles, which 

* "Les grandes penseea viennent du coeur." — Vauvenargues. 



234 'THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

we enjoy, but they forget the plain of Eunny-mede, the fight at Edge- 
hill, the landing at Torbay, the struggle at Breed's Hill, and the crown- 
ing glory at York Town. You cannot compress such events into a day 
or a century. The spreading creeper, which shades the wall, with its 
luxuriant and graceful foliage, starts up in a few weeks of summer, and 
perishes to the root at the approach of winter, but the mantling oak 
pursues its progress to grandeur and strength, through sun-shine and 
through storm, sometimes faster and again slower, through long revolv- 
ing periods, affording apt shelter and cool shade to countless generations 
of ephemeral men. 

For free institutions then, there must be capacity to develop, and 
there must be time. If this be true of races wjiom nature has endowed 
with an original aptitude for freedom, and among whom we discover, in 
all other respects, the most brilliant results of mental power and pro- 
gress, what must be said of those who, for thousands of years, have 
exhibited the same undeviating level of degradation and stagnation ? 
If it be asked now why the African is held in hopeless bondage ? the 
answer is plain : because he has never been able at any period of his 
history to show titles to a higher destiny. To vise the language of the 
immortal Stagirite,* pronounced of races originally possessing a much 
higher physical type — " They are slaves because it is their interest to 
be so : they can obey reason, although they are unable to exercise it." 
Are there no other portions of society whose lot may be said to be 
equally hard in being deprived of all share of Government ? Mr. Cal- 
houn pronounced emphatically that African Slavery was a blessing, 
because whatever hysteric tears a false philanthropy pours over his 
destiny, the African sheds none for himself. Nature, so far, has cursed 
him with no dreams of progress which he cannot gratify. Whenever, 
like the Anglo-Saxon, he shall deal in all sorts of curious and gainful 
inventions ; and by perseverance in his plans and audacity in their 
execution, he has raised himself to the level of his master, the tables 
will be changed — it will then be the interest of his master to raise him 



o^ 



•" Aristot. de Eepub. Lib. I. Cap. 5. In all systems the safety of the -whole 
depends upon the predominance of the superior parts. In man, the soul is natu- 
rally superior to the body. Man is naturally superior to the lower animals, and 
if there be those whose intelligence reaches no higher than to render them a 
superior kind of machines, it is right, and tor their own interest, that they should 
obey the higher intelligence. Where these distinctions do not exist, but slavery 
depends merely upon the force of law, it is unjust. In his own words : 

" 6 xoivwvojv Xoya rotfiiTOv, oVov ctitf^vrf^ai aXXa jxtj £%?iv. ^ * * 

* * /3jiXsTai ju-au av r) cpodlg. x. r. X. * * # * 

* * -X- ^- OTI jX£V TOl'vUV SKfi Cpj(fSI TJVScr." X. T. X. 



henry's eulogy. 235 

to a political level with himself, for he will be destitute of all power to 
depress him below hfs deserts. Hitherto liberty, glory, art, progress, 
have not been marked in the African vocabulary. If he utters them, 
it is because, like the tropical bird, he has been taught to chatter and 
to repeat from external prompting, words to which he really attaches no 
ideas. Hitherto, he has invented nothiug, he has improved nothing : 
the world owes him nothing for any single comfort by which the lot of 
humanity is cheered, nor for any contribution to science by which the 
elevation of man's descent is asserted. He is, in truth, what the scath- 
ing satire of the Roman historian, depicted the sensualists of his time 
to have been — '^ vdutl pecora, qucenatura prona, atqiie ventri ohech'entia 
finxit :" His lowest are his strongest instincts. With such an array 
of striking and familiar facts continually forcing themselves upon the 
notice of all, who are not subject to judicial blindness, the madness of 
fanaticism, ever since the foundation of our Constitution, has neverthe- 
less been constantly dreaming of some paradise of negro perfectibility. 
For a time, it was said he had no chance : make him free and he will 
surprise the world by the rapidity of his march towards excellence. 
Have their eyes been closed upon the two pictures which the march of 
events has unfolded for our instruction ? Are Hayti and Jamaica, the 
one sunk into the lowest depths of religious, moral, and political degra- 
dation, and the other fast hastening to the same irreversible doom, fit 
objects for imitation ? Surely, in the words of nature's great analyst, 
" There is scarce truth enough alive to make society secure ; but se- 
curity enough to make fellowships accursed : much upon this riddle 
runs the wisdom of the world." 

To a philanthropy so fraught with folly, to apply no harsher epithet, 
Mr. Calhoun could never be induced to give the slightest quarter. 
He believed that the whole "subject of slavery was foreign to the legiti- 
mate action of Congress, and should be forever banished from its halls. 
He was not so unreasonable as to expect that men who knew nothing of 
the practical working of our system,- should form the same estimate of 
it as ourselves, but he did think it becoming, that when men are igno- 
rant, they should be silent. He felt that it was a system which no rude 
and foreign hand could with safety be permitted to touch. Left to 
ourselves, and to the great innovator, time, he knew that the interest of 
the master would of itself ultimately generate any improvement that 
seemed feasible ; but that officious intrusion, although it might acciden- 
tally hurl the co-ordinate interests of the two races into utter ruin, could 
never be productive of salutary change. Mr. Calhoun utterly opposed 
the whole right of petition, as having not the slightest foundation in 
our recorded compacts. 



236 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

Farther lie perceived, that for the fair and safe working out of the 
system, it must be kept distinctly agricultural, and not be suffered to be 
abridged of large and ample limits. If in the acquisition of these any 
expenses were sustained by one portion of the Union, without an imme- 
diate equivalent, it had already been more than forestalled by the 
immense contribution of the South to the public domain, and by the 
compromises to which it had already submitted, for the sake of peace. 
Beyond those compromises, he was utterly opposed to concession, for 
he knew that if the weaker section for an instant acquiesced under any 
derogation of right, the little finger of usurpation would soon effectuate 
a breach large enough for the whole body of power to enter. He was 
convinced that if we were less teeming with popialation than other 
sections, the spirit of the predominant race was more than a match for 
any force which could be brought to bear against it. His watch-word to 
the South, therefore, was equality of burdens and equality of privileges 
at any and at all hazards. Freemen should be just, generous, even 
wary in their demands upon others, but having once made an issue upon 
principle, they could afterwards yield nothing. 

" Peace be to France ; if Fi-ance in peace permit 
Our just and lineal entrance to our ov>'u ! 
If not, bleed France, and Peace ascend to Heav'n ! 
Whilst we, God's wrathful agent, do correct 
Their proud contempt, that beat his Peace to Heaven." 

Mr. Calhoun's last appearance in the Senate of the United States, 
to take any active part in its debates, was on the 4th of March. Al- 
though obliged to rely upon the utterance of a friend, we may notwith- 
standing say, * " Ilia tanquam cycnea fuit divini hominis vox et oratio," 
as Cicero declared concerning Crassus, on the sudden demise of the 
latter, after having exerted himself with great vehemence in the Senate. 
It was the last voice of the swan, chanting its own monody. The 
speech was a resumption and review of nearly every thing that he had 
been urging, for the last seventeen years. He declared the balance of 
power between the North and the South to be utterly disturbed, in favor 
of the former ; that both in the House of Representatives and in the 
Electoral College, the North possessed a striking preponderance, that if 
the territory now contended to be surrendered to her prejudices, should 
be added to what she had already secured, she would have succeeded in 
appropriating to herself three-fourths of the newly acquired public 

* De Orat. Lib. III., Cap. 2. 



henry's eulogy. 237 



domain ; that she had laid the most unjust and onerous imposts upon 
the weaker section, and revelled in the division of the spoils ; that not 
satisfied with these, she had sought to convert a well-adjusted Federal 
Kepublic into an absolute democratic majority; that she called in 
Executive force to consummate the wrong ; and that in addition to and 
above all these grievances, for the last fifteen years the chief public 
occupation of her people had been to preach a crusade against slavery 
as an unpardonable sin, and to band themselves together for its abolition. 
That insult and oppression had attained a height that left the South no 
alternative but to resist them. A remedy, he declared, must be found, 
and it belonged to the North to propose it. He protested that the cry 
of Union had been vociferated so often that the spell was losing its 
charm, and that even the illustrious Southerner, who had, under better 
auspices, lent the magic of his name to increase the force of the Talis- 
man, could he now be heard, would counsel resistance. He observed 
that the two great distinctions of parties, which by their mutual opposi- 
tion formerly kept up in every part of the country, secured the equilib- 
rium of the government, were now lost in a secret struggle to obtain the 
support of fanatics, by surrendering the safe-guards of the Federal 
polity. He also insisted with great power upon the fact that the bond 
formerly existing among the various religious denominations, with some 
was already ruptured, and with the remainder was fast giving way. The 
course attempted to be pursued in the case of the territories, especially 
California, was, he declared, a fraud upon the Constitution, and ought 
to be immediately renounced. 

It was the parting legacy of our illustrious patriot. He had never 
uttered his opinions with more earnestness and less passion. We trust 
that the warning may not remain unheeded, nor without its salutary 
influence. His whole career, from his first connection with the Federal 
Grovernmeut, to its noble and impressive close, may be pronounced a 
triumphal progress. The Union admired him, his own State adored 
him, troops of friends and retainers surrounded him, the young equally 
with the old flocked to his presence. But he was no flatterer, no in- 
triguer, no speculator for influence, supported by the power of bestowing 
largesses alike on the wuorthless or the worthy. He was a severe esti- 
mator of men, but whatever any man's character or services properly 
claimed, he freely conceded to him. There was, besides, a genial sym- 
pathy with human nature, which stripped him of the trappings of 
artificial manners, whilst it invested him with a union of natural grace 
and dignity, inviting approach, but securing respect. Wisdom and 
instruction flowed from his lips in a continual stream, yet so unaflectcdly 
and without all arrogance, that the listener hung upon his words. He 



238 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

possessed also that infallible indication of high manners — lie was in his 
turn a ready and attentive listener. No matter what the subject, if it 
involved nothing indecent or trivial, he cheerfully followed. Nor was 
he eager to lead ; on the contrary, he kindly permitted his companions 
to select their topics, knowing that men converse most pleasantly upon 
what they best understand. A child would have been attracted by his 
kindliness, whilst a philosopher might feel that he stood in no ordinary 
presence. Deriving his motives of action from his own internal percep- 
tions of excellence, it is astonishing how little solicitous he was about 
attracting the gaze or sharing the plaudits of the multitude. He re- 
fused invitations to public festivals to be celebrated in his own honor, 
so frequently, and they were known to be really so little to his taste, 
that they were at last withheld from motives of respect to his opinion. 
He might arrive at an hotel, when crowded, and be refused its hospi- 
tality, because his person was not recognized. He has been denied, by 
the way-side, a cup of cold water, to slake his feverish thirst, because 
wholly unknown ; the unfortunate author of the denial, long after, 
when apprised of his mistake, saying that had he declared himself, he 
would have run miles to gratify his wish. On one occasion, business 
calling him into a neighboring State, it happened that an humble 
laborer in the mines was prostrated with fever. When the physician 
arrived, quite late at night, he found a very unpretending person seated 
at the foot of the patient's bed, and proceeded, as a matter of course, to 
interrogate him concerning the case. Having retired, the next day, 
the physician observed the same person in the piazza of the village 
tavern, and eagerly inquired who he was, for, said he, "I met him last 
night in the sick chamber, and was astonished at the clearness and 
pertinence of his remarks." ''Do you not know him ?" replied the 
person addressed. " That, 8ir, is John C Calhoun." This anecdote 
rests on indubitable authority, and has been related because it appears 
to be in such admirable keeping with the whole character of the man. 

When at the head of the War Department, some one offered to name 
to him an individual of his office who was in the habit of betraying the 
secrets of his department to his opponents. His reply] was charac- 
teristic : " My bitterest enemies are welcome to know all that occurs in 
my department. I think well of all about me, and do not wish to 
change my opinion, and as far as the communication of information is 
concerned, I only regret that my permission was not asked, as it would 
have been freely granted." "*'• 

* See a terse and succinct biography, prefixed to the collected edition of 
Mr. Calhoun's Speeches. I have found it useful as a reference. 



henry's eulogy. 239 

Mr. Calhoun's eloquence was of that highest order which baffles 
criticism. It was not the result of rules, and yet from it the highest 
rules may be derived. When intending to speak, his first aim was to 
make himself familiar with the details of his subject in all its bearings. 
His mind immediately discriminated between what was unimportant 
and what was essential to the merits of the case. Arrangement followed, 
placing everything in regular connection and sequence. If tropes and 
similes presented themselves, and could be gathered up without turning 
out of the way to reach them, he knew well enough how to weave them 
gracefully into the tissue of his discourse. The splendor of his thoughts, 
and the absence of all concealment and indirectness, imparted to his 
language a crystal clearness, which, whilst it could not be mistaken, was 
sure to attract and rivet attention. His tall erect person awakened 
interest as he arose to speak, and his brilliant eyes seemed to lend his 
thoughts the nimblest avenues into the hearts of his hearers. In him 
the tacit compact for truth, between a public orator and his hearers was 
religiously respected. "Never! Never! Never!" did the heart of 
the man suggest one thing and his language another. Making due 
allowance for the difference between ancient and modex-n manners, his 
whole image may be said to have been foi'med in the Roman mould by 
nature herself, for he was far above the servility of imitation. What 
the historian has recorded of the younger Cato, is as applicable to our 
illustrious statesman, as if it had been drawn from himself — " A man, 
as like as possible to virtue, and in everything more allied to a higher 
order of beings than to men, who never performed what was right, in 
order that he might be seen to do it, but because he could not act other- 
wise ; to whom, also, that alone appeared reasonable which was sanc- 
tioned by justice; free from all human |vices, he always remained the 
arbiter of his own fortune." * 

During forty years the political fortunes of South Carolina might be 
said to have been embarked in the same vessel with Mr. Calhoun. 
The voyage was prosperous and happy for both ; exposed to no untoward 
storms, subject to no dangerous under-currents, and to the last 

"his mistress 
Did hold his eyes, lock'd in her crystal looks ! " 

In noticing the characters of public men, it is often necessary to ttuke 

* Homo virtuti simillimus, et per omnia ingenio Diis, quam hominibus pro- 
prior ; qui uunquam recte fecit, ut facere videretur, sed quia aliter facere uou 
poterat, cuique id solum visum est rationem liabere, quod haberet justitiam ; 
omnibus humanis vitiis immunis, semper fortunam in sua potestate habuit. — 
C. V. Paterculi: Lib. II., Cap. 35. 



240 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

a distinction between their private and their public morals. It may 
well be a fresh source of consolation, amidst the tears which bedew the 
memory of our departed patriot, that in domestic life he has bequeathed 
an example to posterity in all respects worthy of imitation. His piety, 
his morality, his philanthropy, all the gentle yearnings of his nature, 
were without display ; leading to the constant and conscientious perfor- 
mance even of the humblest duties, 

" As ever iu his great task-master's eye ! " 

No man could with more propriety adopt language such as that he 
used when closing a reply to an attack made upon him, by a generous 
but mistaken adversary : '' I then transfer this and all my subsequent 
acts, including the present, to the tribunal of posterity, with a perfect 
confidence that nothing will be found in what I have said or done to 
impeach my integrity or understanding." 



PALMEll'S DISCOURSE. 



A llii<cour.«e on the occasion of tlie death of Hon. Johx C. Calhoun. Delivered 
April 21, 18oU, in the Presbyterian Church of Columbia, South Carolina, by 
B. M. Palmer, Pastor. 

"'I'liis mattfi- is by the decree of the \v:itcliers, and the demand by tiie word of the holy ones: to 
the intent tb,-.t the living may icnow that the Most irii;h ruleth in" the kingdom of men." — Dan. 
IV: 17. 

Whenever public calamities befall a people, an irresistible impulse 
prompts the ready recognition of that Ordaining: Power, without whose 
concurrence not even a sparrow falleth to the ground. The fou.ndation 
of all religion lies in the belief of Grod's existence, and of His provi- 
dential control in the government of the universe : '^ He that cometh 
unto God must believe that he is, and that HE is A rewarder of such 
as diligently seek Him." Hence, even among the nations that sit in 
darkness, who grope in the twilight of the religion of nature, or whose 
only guide are the distorted and traditional fragments of an original rev- 
elation, natural conscience gives a voice to the dispensations of Provi- 
dence. Events, especially those of a painful nature, are supposed to 
contain intimations of the Divine will ; and oracles are sought which 
shall infallibly interpret the meaning which is wrapt within these mys- 
terious symbols. If the angel of death shakes pestilence from its baleful 
wing in its unseen flight over towns and cities; or if gaunt famine stalks 
through the land, snatching the scanty food from the mouths of fam- 
ished multitudes ; or if war, with his iron heel, leaves his track in blood 
and woe upon deserted homes and desolated hearths ; Pagan altars at 
once smoke with bleeding victims, and costly hecatombs are offered to 
appease the anger of the deities, which flames out in such dire misfor- 
tunes. Nor is this to be set to the account of merely superstitious fears. 
The cruel and painful rites may, indeed, be those which superstition 
prompts; but the first spring of all must be found in the depths of that 
religious nature which is man's highest characteristic, and of which 
superstition itself is at once the corruption and the sign. It is the in- 
stinct of man's religious constitution, which, unbidden, seeks for the 
Grod who implanted it ; it is the natural homage which reason, blinded 
as it is, pays to God and Providence; it is the mournful confession of 
IG 



242 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

guilt and sin wliicli the tortured conscience of the transgressor is com- 
pelled to make. But it is in a Christian country, upon which the light 
of divine truth has shined, where the character of God and the nature 
and perfection of his government are unfolded, and where men have 
been clearly taught the relations which they sustain to him who is their 
ruler as well as creator, that the fullest recognition of a superintending 
Providence is to be expected. Nor are we disappointed. When sud- 
den affliction falls upon a Christian community, sending a common 
grief into many dwellings, the spontaneous impulses of the heart, quick- 
ened by the Spirit, and directed by the word of God, draw men together 
into the sanctuary, and bow them in a comnion worship at a common 
throne of grace. If a Christian nation bends beneath this weight of a 
general calamity, the universal sentiment of religion finds a voice when 
the chief magistrate summons us to the house of prayer. The hesitating 
sceptic who wastes his life in scrupulously weighing the evidence of 
Scripture in the ill-adjusted balance of his own warped and blinded 
reason, stands awed at the voice of God speaking in some startling judg- 
ment from ''the clouds and darkness" that "are round about his 
throne." The philosopher who talks with a sneer of Providence, while 
he coolly discourses about second causes, and the uniform laws of nature, 
gives up for the moment his atheistic speculations, as a religious instinct 
occasionally reminds him that he who first ordained these laws must 
continually and directly administer them. Thus, in seasons of general 
distress, those whose religion does not rise above the level of mere 
theism — and it is for a lamentation that in a Christian land, especially 
among public men, there should be many such — these mingle with the 
devout followers of Jesus Christ, who own him as a Saviour from sin, 
and render a pixblic homage to that God who is the author both of 
nature and of grace. 

It is this religious sentiment which has drawn together this unusual 
assembly to-day. The nation has been bereaved ; a great light has been 
extinguished — the voice of a wise and experienced counsellor has been 
hushed by death. Especially has the blow fallen upon us. The distin- 
guished statesman, whose removal though late seemed yet to be prema- 
ture, was the immediate representative of oiw wishes and of our opinions 
in the council chamber of the nation. He was the man of our pre-emi- 
nent choice in the present appalling juncture of our public affairs. His 
death, at all times a calamity to the whole republic, in the present crisis 
is felt to be a special affliction to that portion of this confederacy who 
looked with a confiding trust to his skill, to his experience, to his wis- 
dom, and to his firmness, for a happy issue from our national embarrass- 



palmer's discourse. 248 

iiient. Aud the .sluiubei'iug sentiment of rcligiuus dependence and obli- 
gation is suddeidy awakened to a recognition of God in this dispensa- 
tion of his providence. Therefore we are here : some few, perhaps, 
from an idle curiosity to learn how far the pulpit will venture upon po- 
litical themes ; but the great body of you, I am persuaded, from a sin- 
cere wish to give formal expression to the deep conviction of your hearts, 
that God reigns, and that his government should be acknowledged. 1 
am not called, therefore, to waste breath with any who can see no spe- 
cial interposition of Heaven in the deatli of one who had already lived 
the usual term of human life, and whose enfeebled frame had long given 
no uncertain indications of approaching dissolution. There is an ap- 
pointed time to all men upon the earth, and hence there are lessons to 
be deeply pondered when any are removed by God. But the times and 
circumstances of man's departure from life arc frequently so ordered as 
to convey the most striking and solemn admonition to the living. This 
is emphatically true in the present case. It is not merely that one of 
the great men of this country is dead, that puts such gloom over your 
hearts — it is not merely that one whose wisdom and patriotism had for 
years been the boast of his State, that she is now dressed in the gar- 
ments of mourning — it is that he died at such a time, when of all other 
periods he seemed to be most necessary to his country ; this gives char- 
acter to the event, and forces us to feel that God's hand is in it. My 
hearers, it is not to be concealed, and the pulpit may well now give 
utterance to the conviction, that we ai'e, as a nation, in a most fearful 
and perilous crisis. The cords which, for three-fourths of a century, 
have bound together this growing and happy republic, are now strained 
to their utmost tension. Like a ship laboring in the storm, and sud- 
denly grounded upon some treacherous shoal, every timber of this vast 
confederacy strains and groans under the pressure. Sectional jealousies, 
geographical divisions, the lust of political power, a bastard ambition 
which looks to personal aggrandizement rather than to the public weal, 
a reckless radicalism, which seeks for the subversion of all that is. an- 
cient and stable, and a furious fanaticism which drives on its ill-considered 
conclusions with utter disregard to the evils it engenders — all these 
combine to create a portentous crisis, the like of which was never know 
before, and which .puts to a crucifying test the virtue, the patriotism, 
and the piety of the country. 

To meet such a crisis, and to bear his country through it, no man 
seemed better fitted by character and by education than Mr. Calhoun. 
With a comprehensiveness of mind capable of bringing all knowledge 
within his reach, with a power of analysis which sifted every subject to 



244 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN, 

the kernel, he had, for himself at least, reduced statesmanship to a 
science. His profound studies had gleaned from the pages of ancient 
history, and from the constitutions of other governments, principles 
which his sagacious mind enabled him to apply to all times and to all 
circumstances. With integrity of character which had stood unseduced 
amid the temptations of forty years of public service, and which the 
foetid breath of calumny, in an age given to detraction and slander, had 
not attempted even to soil, his opinion carried with it the authority 
which it is the prerogative of none but an honest man to wield. With 
a self-reliance and a firmness growing alike out of the consciousness of 
his abilities and of his integrity, he was able, in a crisis like the present, 
to stand alone, and, like the cliiF in the midst of the ocean, to breast 
the utmost fury of the storm. Apart from this general preparation for 
the high trust committed to him, he was particularly armed for the 
existing struggle. Probably it is not too much to say, that of all the 
Statesmen of this country he had most studied the question which now 
threatens to divide us into two hostile nations. He had examined it 
statistically, politically, and niorallj^, and brought all the power of his 
mighty intellect to understand it in its bearings and relations. To the 
right adjustment of it he had summoned all his energies; every other 
question being to his mind absorbed in this. With almost prophetic 
foresight he had cast his eagle glance athwart separating years, antici- 
pating the crisis which is now before us, and had concentrated upon 
this period the resources of his genius and the accumvilated treasures of 
his knowledge. The crisis came. With his feeble body, and bori'owing 
the voice of another, he stands for the last time in the hall of debate, 
and gives his final warnings to the country — intimates that within the 
grasp of his penetrating and philosophic mind lay a plan by which in 
future time the country might be saved from faction and strife — and 
then dies — dies, his last counsels never uttered ; — the laboring secret 
still locked up in his own bosom ! Is there no Providence in ^he re- 
moval of such a man, at such a juncture ? The cold and cheerless phi- 
losophy which can regard it as a common event, happening by fate, and 
devoid of all moral significance, is a philosophy which freezes the aft'ec- 
tions and congeals the emotions of the soul. But the religion which 
recognises in it the voice of a Supreme Power, and which asks with 
solemnity the meaning of such a dispensation, sends a glow to the heart, 
and bows the soul with docility and reverence before the teachings of 
God. 

If, my hearers, you are assembled under convictions of this kind, you 
Avill not desire from me empty panygeric of the great man whose death 



palmer's discourse. 245 

we deplore ; still more would it shock your religious sensibilitief? were I 
to canvass the political themes -which at this time divide man from man. 
We bow together before the inspired oracles of Grod, and seek the inter- 
pretation of this event as conveying a divine message to ourselves. I 
answer, therefore, in the language of an inspired prophet, that " this 
matter is by the decree of the watchers, to the intent that the living 
may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men." 

Were I permitted to address the Congress of which our venerated 
statesman was a conspicuous member, I would deliver this message with 
emphasis to them. I would seek to remind them that ^-overnment' itself 
is an ordinance of God ; that a special Providence was concerned in 
their election to rule a free and generous people ; and that of necessity 
they must be held immediately responsible to Grod for their discharge of 
the solemn trust committed by him to them. As the veil is for a mo- 
ment drawn aside which separates the throne of Jehovah from their 
view, I would echo the voice which seems to sound from that throne, 
" Give account of thy stewardship, for thou mayst no longer be steward." 
I would remind them that we all must '' stand before the judgment seat 
of Christ, to give an account of the deeds done in the body ;" that they 
can never merge their personal responsibility as men in their public 
character as rulers and lawgivers ; that for all their plans, both good 
and evil — for all their words, fitly or unfitly spoken — for all their 
thoughts, whether honorable or disgraceful to those who cherish them,' 
they must distinctly answer to the great God in that great day when all 
shall be tried by a just and holy standard. I w^ould warn them against 
that consuming ambition, which, directed only to selfish and personal 
ends, eats like a cancer into the soul, and soon obliterates the last ti-aces 
of honor, generosity, and patriotism in the breasts of public men. I 
would dissuade them from that intense devotion to party which shuts the 
country out of view, and forestalls that conciliation and mutual conces- 
sion, without which they can neither be statesmen nor patriots. I 
would rebuke that bitterness of language, which not only mars the force 
and dignity of debate, but generates a malignity of feeling leading often 
to scenes of violence and brutality which put the nation to the blush. 
It is a part of the inspired description of the wickedness of men, that 
''the poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing 
and bitterness." Above all, I would exhort them that the rulers of a 
Christian people should have regard to that divine law, whose precepts 
are obeyed, and whose sanctions are acknowledged, in every hamlet 
through this broad land. I would teach that as personal religion is the 
surest guarantee of private virtue, so a Christian statesman, who feara 



240 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

G-od and loves liis fellow-men, will be the wisest in counsel, and the 
safest trustee of the rights of others. But the responsibility of address- 
ino- such words to the dignitaries of our laud is not devolved upon me. 
I must turn to those lessons which this melancholy occasion suggests as 
pertinent to ourselves. Taking this death as specially ordered by 
Heaven at this juncture to teach important truths of universal applica- 
tion, we will place ourselves under the guidance of the text for the right 
understanding of its solemn import: "This matter is to the intent that 
the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men." 

I. We are then, in the first j^lace, dhtinctly taught, in the ch'fficnltiea 
n-hicJi now environ lis as a people, to place oxir confidence not in an arm 
of flesh, hut in the wisdom, pioicer, and goodness of God. 

The natural pride of the human mind always leads to overweening 
confidence in the resources of human wisdom and power. We are 
prone to content ourselves with a merely speculative recognition of a 
controlling Providence, and with this to satisfy the religious element of 
our nature, while we withhold that practical acknowledgment which 
the heart alone can give. It is but a dry inference of the understand- 
ing, a cold article of our creed, the mere dogma of our philosophy. It 
does not warm the heart ; it does not inform the life, nor actuate the 
conduct ; it docs not nerve the strength in the hour of conflict, nor 
sustain the courage in the moment of darkness and defeat. Nothing 
but the profound conviction which comes forth from the hidden depths 
of the soul, and which is interwoven with all its emotions and secret 
thoughts, can ever shape the character of men, and influence their 
daily conduct. The effect of this practical atheism may often be traced 
in the disasters to which it leads. It provokes the Almighty to with- 
draw his protecting care, and to leave us for a season to the infatuation 
of our own counsels, if not, indeed, to chastise us with heavy strokes 
till his power and dominion are acknowledged. But laying out of view 
all Divine interposition, the natural influence of this practical atheism 
upon nations is most disastrous. In those trying emergencies which 
often arise, when human wisdom fails, when the passions of the multi- 
tude burst away from the control of those who have sought to inflame 
in order to use them, then reckless desperation succeeds by necessary 
re-action to this blind confidence. When human counsels cease to in- 
fluence, and Divine counsels are not sought, what other result can there 
be, but that men should be borne headlong by the fury of their own 
passions, and riot for a season with the most entire abandonment of 
restraint. What is the history of revolutions and of civil wars but a 
commentary upon the atheism which does not practically recognise the 
presence of (iod nor the supreme authority of his law r* 



palmer's discourse, 247 

I have already alluded to the crisis now existing in our public affairs. 
This is not the place, nor am I the person, to describe its origin or to 
detail its progress. But in every aspect it is most fearful to contem- 
plate. The question before us is simply that of national existence. 
There are, it seems to mc, but three issues into which this crisis can 
possibly resolve itself. The first is the perpetuation of this Union as 
it now exists, under the shadow of the Constitution which our fathers 
framed for us; the second is the peaceful dismemberment of this great 
confederation, by the general consent of the whole; the third is the 
violent disruption of our political bonds amid scenes of blood and 
strife, from which the mind recoils with horror. As to the first of 
these, it is the issue for which we all ardently pray and sincerely labor. 
There is not one who has entertained the idea of the dissolution of this 
Union but as a last and most necessary resort, and there is not one who 
does not earnestly desire that such an alternative may, in the good pro- 
vidence of God, be forever averted. Yet I presume it is the most 
mature and settled conviction of all who live in this section of our- 
land, that it is neither possible nor desirable to retain the name and the 
form of the Union, without the peace and friendship which it implies: 
It is not the name which we venerate, but the realitij which it embo- 
dies. The most fearful schism may occur in organized bodies long- 
before external and visible separation. The word Union is but a 
mockery and a lie, when bitter feuds and malignant hatred are the only 
terms of correspondence. I utter the sentiment with deep solemnity, 
I trust, under a suitable impression of the sanction which religion gives 
to whatever is uttered from this desk — that to the perpetuation of this 
Union the entire cessation of hostilities, and a return to plighted ftiith 
at the other end of these States, are of absolute necessity. If the de- 
moralizing doctrine recently avowed is to obtain, that neither the sanc- 
tion of an oath, nor the faith of written compacts, is to bind the con- 
science, then is the Union already and in fact dissolved. The Consti- 
tution, which is the formal bond of our Union, binds the States to 
reciprocal duties — it seeks to protect itself from infraction by the impo- 
sition of public and official oaths; yet if these obligations are recog- 
nised only to be the more profanely trampled under foot; if these oaths 
are taken expressly to be violated, then is the bond effectually destroyed 
which holds the confederacy together-^the bond of faith and of common 
justice. So long as these outrageous sentiments were avowed and prac- 
tised by a few individuals only in the public service, it was possible to 
bear them. This atrocity, so long as it remained the atrocity of indi- 
viduals, could be met with that indignation with which a virtuous mind 



248 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

must ahvays regard folsehood aud perjury. But iu the present crisis 
the question can no longer be blinked, is this disorganizing principle to 
be endorsed, or is it to be formally and publicly disowned. It surely is 
not desirable that the Capitol shall be converted into the arena of strife 
and conflict, as during the present session of our Congress. It is not 
seemly that our Representatives should assemble from all parts of the 
land to be a mere spectacle of bull-baiting to the world. But who 
shall pluck the ship from the very mouth of the maelstrom, aud roll 
back the eddying currents which create it? Who is able effectively 
and immediately to stop the tide of fimaticism which has swept us on 
to the very brink of destruction ? Yv^ho is able to speak out in the 
storm which beats around us, and to say to all the raging elements, 
"Peace I be still I" verily, none but He who turns the hearts of men 
as the rivers of waters are turned. Our trust must be in God, who 
alone is able to create a speedy and happy re-action in the popular mind, 
and to bring the most violent and clamorous to a sense of justice and of 
rio-ht. My own conviction from the first has been that this would be 
the happy issue of our present troubles ; that brought to the very edge 
of the precipice, and iu the moment of our despair, we should see one 
of those sudden and auspicious revolutions in public sentiment, which 
a pious mind loves to ascribe, through secondary influences and agencies 
it may be, to the immediate and favorable intervention of the Divine 
Beino;. As Christian patriots, our appeal must now be to the friend- 
ship and protection of the God of Nations, in whom our fathers trusted, 
and who, we hope, will be the God of our children. 

But let us turn to the other branch of the alternative, separation. 
We amuse ourselves with the hope of a quiet and peaceful secession ; 
but it is an object of hope only because it is within the power of God 
to effect it; while nothing in the teachings of history, and no just in- 
ference from the character of men, can be produced to justify the 
expectation. What people sprung from a coiumon ancestry, of our 
blood, having the same language, the same laws, aud the same religion, 
enjoying a common inheritance of liberty and glory, ever separated 
without bloodshed into two rival nations? What boundaries shall divide 
us but the bitter animosities and feuds which lead to the separation ? 
How shall the patrimony be divided to the satisfaction of both sections, 
so that new grounds of strife shall not grow out of the division itself? 
How can it be otherwise than that the strife which brings about the 
dissolution must be embittered by this consummating act ? No I it is 
hoping against hope — it is hoping against all the admonitions of the 
past — against all the reasonable conclusions which can be drawn from 



palmer's discourse. 249 

the present position of the conntry. Yet no one can deny that, in the 
providence of (jiod, it is barely iiossihle. There might be brought to 
pass such a combination of interests, such a connection of events, that 
this new thing might happen under the sun ; and surely if this is to 
be the issue to which the controversy now pending must come, we have 
occasion most devoutly to put our trust in God, who alone can do that 
which all experience and reason teach to be well nigh impossible; cer- 
tainly impossible to all human skill and foresight. 

But suppose this strange result to be reached ; all the memories of 
the past to be obliterated; our common ancestry forgotten; and a 
peaceful division of this vast domain of ours effected. What then 't 
Shall two great confederacies be erected in friendly rivalry to each 
other ? or shall there be more ? or shall the disintegration be entire, and 
this nation, now one and mighty, be resolved into as many principalities 
as there are now States ? Is this a day to enter upon the business of 
making constitutions and framing governments ? Who shall hold back 
the flood which has already rolled over the European continent, over- 
turning thrones and disorganizing empires ? Is radicalism, which seeks 
change for the sake of change; and socialism, which breaks down all 
the partitions of society; and agrariauism, which levels all distinctions 
of fortune and birth — will these elements of agitation sleep, and not 
war upon us in the very commencement of the new experiments upon 
which we enter? The imagination sickens at the prospect of the accu- 
mulated dangers and evils which beset us the moment we are dismem- 
bered. Yet Clod is able to carry us through with success and triumph 
if it please Him. All nations before us have gone through a fearful 
and uncertain pupilage before they attained the robust strength of man- 
hood. 

In every aspect, the crisis before us throAVS us helpless and dependent 
upon Divine Providence. If the Union be preserved, a change in 
feeling and conduct must take place which no human power can effect. 
If it be destroyed, no wisdom but that from above can save us from fra- 
tricidal wars, or guide us successfully through the new dangers which 
threaten to devour. While, therefore, we use all prudence, and tax our 
own invention to the utmost, to meet the perils of the present moment, 
let those who believe in Clod, and in his control over human affairs, 
address him in faith. Christianity, which teaches us to love the Lord 
our Clod, which inculcates repentance for sin and faith in the Redeemer, 
teaches us also the love of country. And the same Father into whose 
bosom we pour our private cares, and whose mercy we sue in the pardon 
of individual sins, permits us to bring our interceding supplications in 



250 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

behalf of the land which hath begotten us, and the country to whom 
we owe the reverence and affection of faithful children. 

II. '^ That the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men." This 
teaches vs to loait loith patience the gradual workings of Gods Provi- 
dence, in silentli/ and imperccptlhly removing the evils ichich afflict 
socirti/ It is instructive to observe the grandeur of the Divine schemes, 
and the silence and quietness with which they are conducted. A mo- 
dern historian has forcibly observed that '' to achieve great results by 
imperceptible means is the law of the Divine dealings. The little seed, 
which the new-born infant may clasp in its feeble hand, he deposits in 
the bosom of the earth, and from that seed, imperceptible in its begin- 
ning, he produces the majestic tree, under whose spreading boughs the 
families of men may find shelter." Knowing his own power, which is 
infinite, and his own wisdom, which is unfathomable, the Most High 
can aftbrd to be patient. He projects his plans upon a scale that over- 
whelms our finite conceptions with their vastness. He bears with 
generations of transgressors. He allows stupendous evils to exist and 
to be perpetuated, which he could remove at a word. Meanwhile he 
puts into exercise moral causes, which slowly and surely, but impercep- 
tibly and quietly, work out their extirpation; and he waits through 
ages for their sublime but uniform operations. How long has he borne 
with the idolatry of the nations, though it robs Him of that glory 
which he, with so much jealousy, claims for himself? How long has 
he tolerated polygamy, though in flat contradiction to the fundamental 
law of marriage, and subversive of the family constitution ? How long 
has he tolerated the reign of despots, when by a blow of his sceptre he 
could emancipate the nations ? He suffers one to be steeped to the 
lips in poverty, while his neighbor abuses his wealth in revelry and riot. 
He suffers one to be immersed in ignorance and mental darkness, while 
another prodigally wastes the opportunities of knowledge and improve- 
ment. Yet these things shall not always be. He has set his Clospel 
upon the earth to regenerate and elevate mankind. He diffuses slowly 
the blessings of civilization and knowledge, till they shall cover the 
globe, and saves a suffering world from despair, by the promise of the 
day when righteousness and peace, and love shall reign upon earth, and 
oppression, injustice, and hatred shall belong only to the past. Con- 
trast now with this the hot impatience of the creature, man. He sits 
down, and with the measures of his scanty knowledge, forms plans 
which he calls perfect ; then change follows hard upon change as ex- 
perience suggests improvements, till at length, fretful and peevish 
through disappointment, he dashes to pieces the work of his own hands. 



palmer's discourse. 251 

If this were confined to his own works, it were well. Bvit with self- 
sufficiency he arrogates to amend the works of God. He quarrels with 
the slowness of Divine Providence. While God is patient with man, 
man is utterly impatient with God. Self-constituted reformers arise, 
and demand that at once the evils of society be corrected, or the whole 
must be made a wreck. The sun must he stricken from the heavens if 
a spot be found upon his disk, and the stars be swept from the sky if 
their courses be erratic. 

I dwell upon this, because it appears to me the great error which has 
plunged many religious and conscientious men into the abyss of fanati- 
cism, and has largely contributed to produce the present alarming crisis 
in our national councils. Evils are supposed to exist in our midst. 
We will not debate how far this opinion is just. Be it so, that great 
and pressing evils do exist in the government which is constituted over 
us. But these persons forget the law of Providence, which works out the 
amelioration of society and the advancement of mankind by moral 
causes, as silent as they are potent. They rush headlong in a career of 
reform, forgetful of other duties, and trampling upon other obligations 
as sacred as any which can bind the conscience. How far they are 
incompetent to assume the control of Providence, and to quicken the 
activity of Jehovah, will appear from a single consideration. In the 
imperfect state of human society it pleases God to allow many evils, 
which yet serve as checks to others which are still greater. As in the 
physical world objects are not moved forward by a single force, but by 
the composition of forces, so in his moral administration, there are 
checks and balances, the relations of all which are comprehended only 
by himself. Many things which in themselves considered are abso- 
lutely evil, do yet in their relations work out a good otherwise unattain- 
able, and ward off dangers otherwise inevitable. But all self-sufficient 
reformers, workina- 'out the sinfrle idea which rides them like a uio-ht- 
mare, dash forward, not regarding or comprehending the delicate 
mechanism of Providence; which moves on, wheel within wheel, with 
pivots and balances and springs, which the great designer alone can 
control. These fierce zealots, who undertake to drive the Chariot of 
the Sun, dash athwart the spheres, and throw the universe into confu- 
sion, that they may have a straight path for the race. 

It is time to reproduce the obsolete idea that Providence must govern 
man, and not that man should control Providence. Evils, that are 
inwrought into the very frame-work of society must be borne by man, 
so long as they are tolerated by God. We are not to legislate for Him 
who "does according to his pleasure among the armies of Heaven and 



252 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

among the inhabitants of Earth." The most High ruleth in the king- 
dom of men ; but the question with the wild agitators of our day is, 
whether he shall ruh^, seeing he is so slow to rule, in their jiidgment, 
right. The radicalism so rampant in our days, which wars against con- 
stitutions and laws and compacts — against Sabbaths and sanctuaries — 
against the family, the State and the church — is a blasphemous assump- 
tion of (xod's jurisdiction. It profanely rebukes the most High for 
errors in His administration — it seeks to snatch the reins of empire 
from Him who has established His throne in righteousness and judg- 
ment. And since it cannot rule God, would lay the imiverse in ruins 
at his feet. I confess that one ground of my hope that God will bring 
speedy deliverence to our suffering country, is, that he may thereby 
rebuke the pride and arrogance and profaneness of those who have 
brought this crisis upon us, in their mad attempt to usurp his high pre- 
rogatives. 

III. This truth, that the Host Higk ruleth in the kingdom of men, 
teaches also that as hy individuals, so h}/ nations, God has high and 
solemn purposes to accomplish through each ; and the business of all is 
to learn and do theiv mission. 

Dr. Croly has ventured to assert that "England was chosen for the 
especial guardianship of Christianity." So far as Protestantism is con- 
cerned, he maintains the proposition by a remarkable induction of 
facts. "It is a striking circumstance," he goes on to say, "that since 
the Reformation, every reign of Popish tendency has been followed by 
one purely Protestant ; and these alternate reigns have not offered a 
stronger contrast in their princi^^les than in their public fortunes." 
The vigorous reign of the Eighth Henry was followed by the bloody 
and cruel reign of Mary, who "left a dilapidated kingdom — a nation 
worn out with disaster and debt." Elizabeth succeeded, and "her 
conquering sign was Protestantism." After a long reign, styled Eng- 
land's Augustan Age, she left it the queen over Europe. Charles the 
First was at heart a Papist ; and, after a long and disgraceful conflict 
with his own subjects, he lost his kingdom and his head upon the 
block. Cromwell, in the brief and troubled period of his dictatorship, 
"lifted England again to her feet," and "made the name of English- 
men as honored as was that of an ancient Roman." The Second 
Charles and the Second James were still more violent apostates from 
the cause of truth, and the house of Stuarts was expelled the throne. 
We will not stop to ask whether these striking facts fully justify the 
application which is made of them ; but of the abstract principle, that 
God has a trust for nations as for persons, and that they prosper or 



palmer's mSUOURSE. ~^'^ 

decline in accordance with their uwu fidelity, there can be uu doubt 
whatever. If the Old Testament history-, where the prophet stands 
side by side with the historian, does not establish this truth, it infers no 
truth whatever. The mighty empire of Egypt was the cradle in which 
the infant Jewish nation was rocked and reared to maturity; the 
Canaanites held the Promised Land only so long as the Jews were 
under pupilage, and at the set time they gave it up to the descendants 
of the faithful Abraham ; the Assyrians were raised up to be a scourge 
in God's hands, with which he chastised the folly and wickedness of 
Israel, and in due season the empire passed over to the Persian, that he 
might knock the fetters from captive Judah and let the prisoner go 
free ; the Grecian and Roman conquests paved the way for the final 
overthrow of Judaism and for the propagation of Christianity ; when 
the time came for "the sceptre to depart from Judah and a lawgiver 
from between his feet," then ''the eagles were gathered together" over 
the carcase', and Jerusalem was wiped out and turned over as a dish. 
In a word, all the great empires of antiquity are seen to revolve around 
that small, but important, nation chosen to bear upon its bosom the 
immortal Church of God. All history may be viewed in two lights : 
as the record of human actions, and as the development of God's pur- 
poses. An intelligent reader should peruse every page first downwards, 
and then upwards ; first tracing the thread of events, and then unfold- 
ing the plans of God in those events. History interpreted is Provi- 
dence expounded. Without the former, Providence is only a blind 
mystery; without the latter, history is a mere fable — they are two 
parts of the same subject — two aspects of the same truth — each is an 
enigma without the other. History is the delineation of Providence ; 
Providence is the interpretation of history ; and though no inspired 
interpretation accompanies the events of modern times, the same God 
rules now as then — the same church lives now as then, to which king- 
doms and empires are tributary — and the same great principle obtains, 
that nations have their destinies assigned in their connexion with this 
Kingdom of the Redeemer. Why else is England suiFered to push 
her dominions far into India ? Why else is she permitted to thunder 
with her cannon against the Chinese wall ? 

If we attend too to the origin and progress of our own history, we 
shall be at no loss for a clue to the mission upon which we are sent a^ 
a nation. As one has remarked, "God sifted three nations to sow this 
continent with a good seed." The Church of Christ first took posses- 
sion of these shores, and claimed here a home. The principles upon 
which our independence was successfully maintained, and the remarkable 



254 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

interposition of Grod in our behalf, reveal the commission Avhich God 
gives to us as a people. Already in great measure have we wrought 
out a problem, for which no nation under the heavens was adequate : 
the entire separation of the civil and the ecclesiastical power ; and we 
realize to the world the great idea of a Christian nation which yet does 
not seek to bring the church in bondage. A great destiny lies" before 
us, if we are equal to its achievement. It is certain that before the 
lapse of many years, in the ordinary workings of Providence, our 
habits, our laws, our institutions, and our religion must be planted upon 
every foot of this entire continent. Already are we familiar with the 
idea of connecting the Atlantic and Pacific waters, and becoming thus 
the highway of the nations ; already do we talk of sending our ships 
from the eastern and the western coast alike, plowing the waves of the 
Pacific, and sending eastward and westward the knowledge, the civili- 
zation, and the religion with which we are blessed. From the bosom ot 
a Christian nation the Church of the Redeemer has sent forth her 
heralds to Asia, to Africa, to the isles of the sea ; and thus, under His 
mediatorial reign, does he use this nation and this country to advance 
the glories of His kingdom, which is an everlasting kingdom, and to 
establish his dominion, which is to be "from the river to the ends of 
the earth." Let it be written then upon our banners that we are a 
Christian nation — that we fear Grod and respect his law. Let His 
Sabbaths be honored, and drunkenness and profaneuess driven from our 
borders. Let our rulers and statesmen admit and practise upon the 
truth that the Bible, and the religion of the Bible, have made this 
nation what it is. Above all, let the Church of Christ in this country 
be steady and growing in her zeal to extend the gospel through all the 
earth — then we are safe for many good years to come ; let whatever 
issues arise, let whatever danger threaten, with the Bible and Chris- 
tianity for our foundation, our political prosperity will be as firm as the 
granite beneath our mountains. The loss of great men in trying sea- 
sons may well teach us these important lessons. AVhen the props we 
have made for ourselves are stricken away, it is wise to say, with one 
of old, " Ashur shall not save us ; we will not ride upon horses ; neither 
will we say any more to the work of our hands, ye are our gods : but in 
thee the fatherless findeth mercy." 



WHYTE'S EULOGY. 



•-S-?-!^SS! 



Delivered by the Rev. Archibald Whyte, at Yorkville, S. C, June 3, 1850. 
Published by Request of the Committee of Arrangements. 

From history, both sacred and profane, we learn that from a very 
early period men were accustomed to pay a tribtite of respect to departed 
worth. The practice extended from the Hebrew to surrounding nations, 
and has descended to us as a time-honored custom. Our nation has 
been smitten in the person of one whose fame was bounded by no empire 
or clime ; and we meet to testify in the most public and impressive 
manner, our regard for the virtues, our gratitude for the services, and 
our sorrow for the loss of a citizen so excellent and so beloved. The 
wide Atlantic and the boundless Pacific roll the tide of grief to distant 
shores ; and the sons of freedom, and of civilization, in every part of the 
habitable globe, unite in grief, and mingle their lamentations with those 
of our bereaved countrymen. Your partiality has imposed upon me the 
duty of tracing the life and delineating the character of him whom in 
life we held dear, and whose mysterious removal at such an important 
crisis, we all deplore. The eloquent and martyred Emmett, at a period 
of life the most portentous and solemn, exclaimed — " A man dies, but 
his memory lives. Let no man write my epitaph." The history of the 
world, and the knowledge of human nature, admonish us to tread lightly 
on occasions so solemn and afiecting, and withal, so recent. 

In Abbeville, one of the upper Districts of South Carolina, not far 
from the track of advancing and retreating armies during the Revolu- 
tion, on the 18th March, 1782, was born John Caldwell Calhoun. 
The tide of emigration which set in from Pennsylvania to IMiddle and 
Western Virginia, after Braddock's defeat, turned South to the Caro- 
linas. A few years sufficed to throw in a vast amount of population, 
some stopping on the banks of the Eno, on the Yadkin, and on the 
Savannas of the Catawba, and some moving on beyond the Broad, the 
Enoree, and the Saluda. 

In the advance of these, and nearly a century since, was Patrick 
Calhoun, the father of John C Calhoun, who has filled the full mea- 
sure of his country's glory, devoting the brightest intellect to her in- 



256 'niK CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

terests ; not like the meteor, blaziug for a moment, aud then shrouded 
ill darkness, but like the fuU-orbcd luminary which continues to blaze 
and illuminate all around. The pioneers in those days, while they 
scattered the seed Avith one hand, like the Jews of old, in re-building 
the walls of Jerusalem, were compelled to carry the weapons of defence 
in the other. The savage foe roamed unmolested, and their midnight 
yells awakened in the bosoms of the early settlers, the gloomiest appre- 
hensions. They had scarcely recovered from the alarm which followed 
the disaster at Fort J)uQuesne, the terrific cry of the savage sounding 
in their ears and following their path ; and now, when congratulating 
themselves upon their escape, they were again in the midst of dangers. 
The Cherokees, unlike the Catawbas, were a restless and a savage race, 
■ and often involved the early settlers in fierce and bloody struggles. 

The father of our lamented statesman was appointed by the Provincial 
Government to the command of a body of Hangers, for the defence of 
the frontiers. When the Revolution broke out, they had not only 
Indians to fight, but tories among themselves ; they were as cruel as 
the untamed savage, and no less treacherous ) they dogged the footsteps 
of the American patriot, entered his premises, drove off women and 
children, burnt their houses, and destroyed their effects. Enjoying as 
we do, privileges so enlarged and liberal, we can scarcely realize the 
sufferings of our revolutionary ancestors. . ^^ 

In 1770, Patrick Calhoun married Miss Caldwell, of Charlotte County, 
Virginia, and died in 179G, leaving, among other children, John Cald- 
well, then thirteen years old, since, " clarum et venerabile nomen." 
Both father and mother appears to have been impressed with the impor- 
tance of instilling Divine principles into the minds of their children. 
The seed thus early sown took root, and in subsequent years yielded 
fruit. The subject of our notice, like Lemuel, never forgot the lesson 
his mother taught him, and exhibited in his life the truth of the decla- 
ration — '' Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old 
he will not depart from it." Under many disadvantages, he pursued 
and completed his Academical studies, and finally graduated at Yale 
College, in 1804, with the reputation of being an accomplished and 
elegant classical scholar ; and inspiring his preceptors with high antici- 
pations of his becoming distinguished in life. On his return from 
College, Mr. Calhoun entered himself for a time as a student of law, 
in the office of the late Chancellor DeSaussure, and finally completed 
his course at the celebrated Law School in liitchfield, Connecticut. 
Returning to his native State about the year 1800, he commenced the 
practice of law in Abbeville District, taking rank from the outset among 



whyte's f:uLOGY. • 257 

the most emiueut lawyers uf liis cireuit. About this time tlie diiftculties 
between the General Goverument and Great Britain began to assume a 
serious aspect. The Chesapeake had been attacked off" the coast of the 
United States, boarded, and four of her seamen removed ; this added 
to the refusal of Great Britain to siuTender certain posts, her claiming 
a right to search all ships navigating the ocean, and her long efforts to 
cripple American commerce, inflamed in a high degree the public mind. 
Mr. Calhoun addressed his fellow-citizens on these stirring topics, and 
was returned a member to the Legislature, where he gave strong indica- 
tions of that political foresight and sagacity by which his subsequent 
life was so strongly marked. The dawn of intellect in this his first 
public exhibition as a representative and statesman, exhibited much of 
the terse, concise, and condensed style by which his efforts in more 
mature, as well as in advanced life, were characterized. He was soon 
transferred from the State Legislature to the House of Keprescutatives 
of the United States, where, on the 4th of November, 1811, he first 
took his seat ; from this time till the day of his death, his life belongs 
to history. 

Entering the House with some little experience, acquired at home, 
and with some reputation which had preceded him, he was at once 
brought into contact with the master spirits of the age. Perhaps at no 
period in the h' tory of our country were there congregated so many 
able, experienced, and sagacious representatives. The whole country 
was in a state of excitement and ferment, and the respective parties 
were led off" by distinguished and eloquent leaders, who were marshal- 
ling their hosts for the conflict. The storm which for years had been 
gathering, was ready to burst forth. Inspired by a love of country, and 
prompted by the voice of constituents, which was ever heard with 
reverence, he had repaired to the seat of Government, and at a time by 
no means the least eventful. It was a period in the history of our 
country in which he and other patriotic citizens felt it their indispen- 
sable duty to lay aside all party prejudices, and to be actuated only by 
such motives as coincided with individual justice, and the greatest 
general good, and to pursue those measures which were likely to be 
productive of public and private virtue, without which the inestimable 
blessings of a free goverument cannot long exist. 

The country had suff'ered much by the unjust policy of the belligerent 
powers of Europe. Great Britain did not seem inclined to relinquish 
her orders in council, surrender up our impressed seamen, or even per- 
mit us " to enjoy the common and legal rights of a neutral nation." 
The political divisions in the United States were pi'oductivc of the most 
17 



258 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

unhappy consequences. Party spirit ran so high as not only to prevent 
an amicable settlement of these difficulties, but actually encouraged 
depredations upon property, and attempts to excite one part of the 
confederacy against another. Unreasonable and unfounded jealousies 
existed, and it became a matter of the highest magnitude to overcome 
these dangerous evils. Mr. Calhoun was placed on the Committee of 
Foreign Relations, second to Gen. Porter, of New York, having for 
colleagues, John Randolph, Judge Grundy, Smilie, Harper, Key, and 
others. Here in Committee and in the House, he had to contend with 
the brilliant, sarcastic, and eccentric Randolph, who led ofi" in opposition 
to the administration of Mr. Madison. And it need not be concealed, 
for it is no disparagement to the reputation of the pure, unspotted, and 
indefatigable Executive, that owing to well grounded fears, and distrust 
of the readiness of the country, to come up to the svipport of his mea- 
sures, there was some indication of vacillation. 

Prudence forbade extreme measures, when there was just ground of 
apprehension that they would lead to distraction. It devolved in a 
great measure upon the Committee of Foreign Relations to prepare 
Congress for war. Mr. Randolph, a ready and skilful debater, threw 
all his influence into the scale, with a view to bear down war measures. 
It was at this time Mr. Calhoun obtained a celebrated victory over 
this able champion and interesting debater. Without submitting a 
motion, he attempted a long and able argument, when he was called to 
order; the House sustained the call, a reference to which has recently 
been had in the Senate of the United States. Mr. Randolph then ad- 
dressed his celebrated letter to his constituents, complaining of the 
abridgement of his rights, and declaring that a war with England com- 
ported neither with the interest nor honor of the American people, 
" but was an idolatrous sacrifice of both, on the altar of French rapacity, 
perfidy, and ambition." 

In these frequent encounters, the Committee owed much to the 
seasonable aid brought by members of the House, but to none more than 
to the eloquent and chivalrous Kentuckian, then speaker, who on the 
recent melancholy occasion, joined in the universal grief, and nobly bore 
testimony to the eminent abilities, the stern integrity, and great worth, 
both public and private, of Carolina's favorite son. 

The classical attainments and the finished education of Mr. Randolph 
rendered him a strong, powerful, and instructive debater, and few were 
able to meet him in this department. With a rich patrimonial inheri- 
tance, he received all the instruction which the wisest masters of the 
age could impart. Mr. Clay, on the other hand, having few resources, 



WHYTE S EULOGY. 250 

was less indebted to the masters of the age, but more dependent upon 
himself. Naturally eloquent and courteous, generous and impulsive, 
with a voice as melodious as that of Melpomene herself, with intonations 
the most fascinating and enrapturing, and burning with zeal for the 
honor of his country, he stept into the arena on all occasions, and 
brought his powerful influence to bear upon the subject matter of dis- 
pute ; with the gallantry of the Chevalier Uayard, he bore down upon 
the strongest man of the age. And his efforts, united to those of the 
ingenious and dexterous Grruudy, the sagacious and honest Calhoun, 
and the manly and strong-headed Porter, determined the tide of popular 
opinion, confirmed the wavering, exposed the sophistry and rendered 
powerless the exertions of the opposition. Matters being fully ripe 
after the passage of the Embargo Act, Glen. Porter retired from Con- 
gress, and Mr. Calhoun, about his third decade, succeeded to his 
position ; as Chairman of the Committee, it devolved upon him to draw 
up the report and declaration of war. The history of the difliculties 
between the two Clovernments is lucid and succinct — the general prin- 
ciples on the subject of blockades, such as have been appealed to in 
later times ; and the whole performance so able, that the Act accom- 
panying it was adopted by a vote of 79 to 49. The Declaration of War 
took by surpi-ise many on both sides of the Atlantic. The court papers 
at St. James' ridiculed the idea of a war, tauntingly reminded the world 
that the politics of '' America were remarkably stationery^/' and that 
the government of the United States " were always trembling and 
hesitating on the slippery verge of war." Papers in our own country 
joined in the ridicule, and in view of the general apathy declared, " that 
either the Government was false and hypocritical, or the people out of 
their senses." The appeal to arms, however, was made, and terminated 
more brilliantly and successfully than the most sanguine had any reason 
to expect. The war having terminated, the country was involved in 
overwhelming debt. In this state of aff"airs, the wisdom and patriotism 
of Mr. Calhoun shone forth conspicuously ; and his noble disinterested- 
ness triumphed. He united in those plans which seemed best calcu- 
lated to relieve the general embarrassment, and insure the advantage of 
the many, notwithstanding it bore heavily on the section of country 
with which he was more immediately identified. The plans for the 
payment of the public debt, and for resuscitating the energies of the 
country, which had been crippled during the war, being adjusted, the 
way appeared open for retiring to private life, to follow those pursuits 
which were so congenial to his nature. The most eminent among man- 
kind have yielded to rural attractions- In our country, we find Wash- 



260 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

ingtou, at every interval, hastening to Mount Vernon to mingle in 
agricultural pursuits ; we tiud the sages of Monticello and of IMoutpelier 
delighting in their estates ; the heroes of Tippecanoe and of New Orleans 
cultivating the soil ; the eloquent orator of Ashland enraptured with 
his farm ; and the great exponent of national and constitutional law, 
retreating on every occasion to his own Marshfield. As Washington, 
so often as opportunity offered, hastened to Mount Vernon, on the banks 
of the Potomac, so did Mr. Calhoun hasten to Fort Hill, on the banks 
of his own Seneca. But the place which he occupied on the Committee 
of Foreign Relations had brought him frequently into contact with the 
Department of War. This was found to be utterly unsuited to the 
exigency of the times. The energy displayed in providing the means 
and appliances for prosecuting the war, pointed him out as one well 
qualified to till that Department ; consequently, when JMr. Monroe was 
elected President, his services were called into requisition. He ac- 
cepted the appointment, and did not disappoint the expectations of the 
Executive. Giving his powerful mind to the task, he reduced the 
Department from a state of chaos and confusion to neatness and order. 
At the canvass of 1824, he was elected Vice President, which office he 
discharged with great dignity, urbanity, and firmness. Before the ex- 
piration of the second term, a controversy had arisen between the 
Federal Government and his native State ; it was supposed he could 
serve the interests of his State more efficiently upon the floor of the 
Senate than in the chair. He accordingly resigned his office as Vice 
President of the United States, and was returned by the Legislature a 
Member of the Senate. The history of the times being fresh in the 
minds of the community, and many of the prominent actors being yet 
on the stage of public life, and the questions involved being questions 
of a delicate nature, it might appear invidious to speak very particularly 
of this period of his life. Suffice it to say, that with his usual fearless- 
ness and frankness he met eveiy question, and that every subject which 
came under review received the impress of his strong and vigorous 
mind. He continued to devote his time and talents to the service of 
his country in the Senate of the United States, bearing a conspicuous 
part in all the questions which agitated the country until 1842, when 
he apprised the Legislature of South ^Carolina of his determination to 
retire to private life after the 4th of March ensuing. At the same 
time the eloquent Preston sent in his resignation, to take effect forth- 
with. Agreeably to his determination, Mr. Calhoun, at the expira- 
tion of the time which lie had set, retired to Fort Hill, his residence in 
Pendleton. 



whyte's eulogy. 261 

Twelve montlis had elapsed when the office of Secretary of State 
became vacant by the melancholy death of Judge Upshur. The con- 
dition of our Foreign Affairs, particularly with Great Britain, was 
highly delicate ; Mr. Webster, after the settlement of the north-eastern 
boundary question, voluntarily retired from the Department of State. 

All eyes were turned to Mr. Calhoun. A spontaneous call went up 
from all sections of the country, north, south, east, and west; and 
without his knowledge, or application on the part of his friends, the 
President nominated him to the post, and the Senate unanimously, 
without the formality of sending to a Committee, and without a moment's 
delay, confirmed the nomination, a compliment well deserved, however 
unusual. This was a concession to sterling integrity, eminent ability, 
and exalted capacity, of which any man might be proud. It is needless 
to say lioio the dvities were discharged farther than that it was to the 
entire satisfaction of the country. At the change of Administration he 
again retired to private life, but was forthwith called again to the Senate 
of the United States, where his services were once more required in 
adjusting the difficulties which had sprung up, by agitating the Oregon 
question. His prudent counsels, added to those of other patriotic 
Senators, prevailed, and the difficult and delicate question was finally 
settled without a resort to war. 

When Secretary of State, by, a bold and dashing move, he prevented 
the European powers from gaining a foothold upon the soil of Texas ; 
and his unwillingness to disturb the arrangement which had been en- 
tered into in regard to the occupancy of Oregon, until, in the lapse of 
time, the country would have been peopled with emigrants, was admi- 
rably calculated to secure the entire control of that territory, without 
disturbing to any great extent the amicable relations subsisting between 
the two Grovernments. 

His views with regard to Mexico were not carried out, and events 
have shown that the difficulties which he predicted would rise out of it, 
have ail been realized. What influence he might have had in their 
adjustment, must forever remain a secret to man. In the midst of 
these, at the close of a long and brilliant career, his spirit winged its 
flight to other mansions. On the olst March, 1850, on the morning of 
the Lord's Day, with a mind serene and an intellect unclouded, his 
eyes closed upon all sublunary objects. God of mercy ! prepare each 
one of us for our latter end. The news sped forth with telegraphic dis- 
patch, from Washington as the centre (as the blood from the heart) to 
the North, the South, and the West, and the return dispatches brought 
back the echoes of wailing and of lamentation. Since the death of 



262 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

Wasliiugtou, no event of a similar nature created so great a sensation ; 
business at the metropolis, and all portions of the country, was sus- 
pended, and every outward and becoming manifestation of grief and 
sorrow was exhibited. The hand of the Almighty Governor of the 
Universe was seen and felt; "and when the judgments of Grod are 
abroad in the land, it becomes the inhabitants of the earth to learn 
righteousness." It becomes a people to bow in reverence to the fiat of 
the Almighty, and to acknowledge the supremacy of Him '' whose 
ways are not as our ways." When the patriarch Jacob was gathered 
to his fathers, the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days, and "the 
servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and the elders of the land 
attended his burial ; and when Joseph, the prime minister of Egypt 
died, the physicians embalmed him, and prepared his remains for the 
last solemn rites. David and his men mourned over the untimely 
death of Saul and Jonathan. He wept sore at the fate of his gallant 
captain, and pronounced over him this beautiful and heart-touching 
eulogy, " Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen 
this day in Israel ?" The death of our distinguished Senator and emi- 
nent statesman, will be proclaimed through the civilized world. The 
influence of his character, when living, was not confined to one conti- 
nent or one hemisphere, but was felt through all Europe, from the 
North Sea to the Mediterranean, from the pillars of Hercules to the 
Dardanelles. His worth has been acknowledged by the difi'erent powers 
on the continent, and by the sea-girt isles. By that power " the sound 
of whose morning drum encircles the earth, and upon whose flag the 
sun never sets," as well as by that Imperial Government whose subject 
since the days of Catherine have been accustomed to read the inscrip- 
tion upon the finger-post which is erected, "this is the road to Con- 
stantinople," 

" What man is he that liveth here, 

And death shall never see, 
Or from the power of the grave 

What man his soul shall free ?" 

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto 
wisdom." 

From the remarks submitted, which of necessity have been few, it 
may be readily seen that Mr. Calhoun was distinguished, 1. For 
deep originality of thought and fearless independence of mind. Those 
who were at all versant with his character and intellect, will readily 
concede that he was no servile imitator, and that he relied much upon 



wiiytk's eulogy. 20:} 

self, that is, while on the one hand he was not presumptuous, so on the 
other he was free from that infirmity which depresses with melancholy 
thoughts, and disqualifies for happiness, and for the business of life. 
It is also conceded that he had a rare quickness of perception. On 
certain occasions he was greatly misunderstood; and this mistake was 
quite natural, on account of his being so far in advance of the age. 
The conciseness of his style, the close argument which he sustained, his 
logical deductions rather than illustrations, and his total avoidance of 
prolixity, as well as his being in advance of the times, all had their in- 
fluence. His far extended vision, his rapid and lofty flights, secured 
him a place among the great, though they subjected him on certain oc- 
casions to be misunderstood. The quickness with which he could 
ascertain his object, and discover the road to it, was fully commensurate 
with his perseverance and boldness in pursuing it. With a mind fertile 
in resources, a courage which nothing could daunt, and a genius bound- 
ing over obstacles raised by ordinary men, he was lost in grandeur and 
sublimity to those of a contracted sphere. But when his views were 
explained, every one was taken by surprise, felt that they were perfectly 
natural, and wondered why he had never thought of them before. If 
to quickness of apprehension and resources of information, there be 
added profound sagacity, unshaken steadiness of purpose, the entire 
subjugation of all the passions which ''carry havoc through ordinary 
minds, and oftentimes lay waste the fairest prospects of greatness," and 
if these things constitute a great character, then was our departed 
statesman great. 

2. Another characteristic was simplicity and energy of style. Though 
all admit he was a speaker of varied attainments, yet there was no 
effort to pour forth high sounding words of vanity, nor studied rhetoric 
cal flx)urishes for eff'ect. The chief difficulty which a hearer had to en- 
counter, was to follow the logical train of reasoning and keep pace with 
the rapid enunciation. Too many words, and too much illustration, 
have often the same effect as excessive brevity, sometimes too much 
brevity, which is always hurtful. But, notwithstanding the enunciation 
was rapid, the illustration brief, and the sentences short and compre- 
hensive, the words were well selected to please the ear, and the diction 
pure, harmonizing with the idiom of our language. 

In his best efforts, we see exhibited purity, propriety and precision 
in the choice of words, and in their collocation clearness, unity and 
strength, and the proper application of figures when necessity required 
their use. The intellect, with age, did not grow dim, but apparently 
increased in brightness. It has been conceded by the cotempor;iri(^s of 



264 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

Mr, (Jalhoun, by those who acted upon the same stage, that he usually 
repressed rather than encouraged the luxuriance and strength of imagi- 
nation. It was said of Burke, that his ''fancy became more vivid, 
and burnt, as it were, brighter before its extinction." This was pro- 
bably true of the statesman whose removal we lament. His last great 
effort showed the activity of a mind restless and brilliant, and his last 
encounter in debate, when the physical man was broken down, showed 
that there was still the fire of intellect which burnt brighter if possi- 
ble, and which neither time nor age had quenched. 

3. A distinguished trait in the character of Mr. Calhoun, was a 
determination faithfully to discharge his duties without regard to con- 
sequences. His ambition was to place himself in the situation in 
which he could do most good, not disdaining a generous rivalry. Im- 
moderate and unbridled ambition has caused much misery in the world. 
But ambition controlled by benevolence, and love of justice, is inno- 
cent, desirable and beneficial, and is apt to spring up in noble minds. 
Avarice is an unnatural passion that disgraces and debases the soul, and 
seldom fails to " eradicate every generous principle and kind affection ;" 
it impairs the understanding and controls the genius. Unnatural pas- 
sions bring with them a train of evils, and punish those whom they 
have enslaved. But a generous rivalship takes away nothing that 
belongs to others; it merely impels its possessor to be equal or superior 
to others. Enmity and envy are marks of a little mind, but emulation, 
without mixture of malice or envy, is a noble principle of action, and 
a powerful incitement to the acquisition of excellence. 

The Senators, (Clay and Webster,) who knew him long and knew 
him best, unite in bearing testimony to his public and private worth — 
his oneness of purpose, ardent patriotism, and unbending integrity. 
Says one, (Mr. Webster,) after an acquaintance of thirty-seven years, 
and whom he had often encountered in debate : "■ His was the elevated 
character, resulting from unspotted integrity and unimpeached honor ; 
if he had aspirations, they were high, and honorable, and noble, there 
was nothing grovelling, or low, or meanly selfish, that came near the 
head or heart of Mr. Calhoun. Firm in his purpose, perfectly patri- 
otic and honest in the principles that he espoused, and in the measures 
that he defended, aside from that large regard for that species of dis- 
tinction that conducted him to eminent stations for the benefit of the 
public, I do not believe that he was imbued with a selfish feeling." 
The testimony of the other senator, who had known him longer, 
and the author of the noble sentiment, " I had rather be right than 
President of the United States," was, if possible, still more pointed 



whyte's eulogy. 205 

and specific. Was it office or elevation wliicli he coveted ? With the 
knowledge v/hicli he had of human nature and with a genius soaring 
among the loftiest, he could have reached the goal, had this been his 
ohjefct. He had only to spread the sails to catch the popular breeze, 
which would have wafted him to any jjort. Being cast in nature's 
largest mould, he was designed for a leader, not so much of the masses, 
as of the intelligent and intellectual. In sentiment, in style and ora- 
tory, he was no servile imitator, nor did he follow in the wake of any 
distinguished jiolitical leader. Superior to the petty objects of a gro- 
velling ambition, he broke thro' party ties and personal considerations, 
disregarding alike the frowns aud enchantments of power, popular 
applause, and selfish aggrandizement. "I am content" says he, "to 
do my duty without looking farther." His sense of right, his single- 
ness of purpose, and his determination never for self-advancement to 
swerve from the path of duty, called down upon himself the influence 
of those in power, exposed him to the rudest shocks of popular indigna- 
tion, and prevented him from occupying the highest post of honor, 
which might have been his, had this been his chief object. It was his 
fortune to be wilfully misrepresented, as well as innocently misunder- 
stood ; he was not exempt from the fate of all public prominent men. 
Politicians of limited range, sectional and selfish, for the sake of popu- 
larity in their respective localities, represented him as actuated by inor- 
dinate ambition, as having for a quarter of a century advocated every 
scheme which promised the extension of slavery, vvdien it is a well 
known fact that he and others of the same political school opposed 
with the utmost vehemence the acquisition of territory. 

But now that he is longer a public man, history will do justice to his 
fame. The re-action has already commenced. The glowing testimony of 
Grov. Fish, of New York ; the noble resolutions passed by the Legisla- 
ture of that great and patriotic State, and the records of the Historical 
Society ; alike honorable to all concerned, give indubitable proof, that 
justice will yet be done the head and heart of 3Ir. Calhoun. 

4. Mr. Calhoun was distinguished for methodical habits, and dili- 
gence iu the improvement of time. Without this, he could not have 
accomplished so much, and performed what he did so well. Averse to 
all sensual indulgencies, he husbanded precious time, which is too often 
wasted or thrown away by men in public stations. In a choice aud 
well selected library he spent one portion of time, on his farm another, 
and closed the day in the family circle. Giving to every duty its ap- 
propriate time, he found leisure, where others less methodioal and with 
less to do, were hurried to and fro. The beautifnl tribute paid to his 



266 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTK TO CALHOUN. 

domestic virtues by liis early associate and eloquent compeer in tlie 
Senate of the United States, was doubtless well merited. 

5. He was plain and unostentatious in his manners and mode of 
livinp;. While hospitable to strangers, who were ever welcome to his 
home, he was frugal in his own personal expenses. Temperate and ab- 
stemious almost to a proverb, he knew nothing of the cravings of the 
voluptuary. Without fortune and without family influence, he was 
thrown upon his own resources, and upon these did he rely, not upon 
external appliances by which many are pushed forward. 

6. He was distinguished for kindness and urbanity of disposition. 
Free and sociable with his friends, aifable and kind to the young, having 
no desire to hold intercourse where he could not receive or impart hap- 
piness. 

7. Finally, he was a character of rare purity in all the departments 
of life. In an age of detraction, and when political calumnies were 
rife, he was spared the charge of immorality in conduct. An orphan 
at an early age, and exposed to the temptations of public life at an 
early period, it is somewhat remarkable that he was not seduced from 
the paths of virtue. It is a blessed privilege to be descended of pious 
covenanting ancestors. "Ye are the children of the covenant, which 
Grod made with our fathers." A few reflections and I shall close. As 
a nation and people we enjoy distinguished privileges. The chosen 
people of Grod were reminded again and again of what their Divine 
leader had done for them. They were delivered from Egypt by mira- 
cles, and signs, in mercy to tliem and in judgment to their enemies. 
Nations must be driven out before them, to make room for their settle- 
ment in Canaan. The waves of the Red sea must be rolled back, and 
the waters of Jordan dried up to make room for them to pass. The 
elements of nature, and the very stars of Heaven are called into requi- 
sition when their interests are concerned ; and they were often admon- 
ished to remember what they had been. Moses but a short time before 
the close of his eventful life, speaks to them in language the most 
solemn and impressive. " The Lord hath taken you and brought you 
forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a 
people of inheritance." The last words and actions of a departing 
friend, are usually regarded with peculiar interest. The efi'ect which 
they produce is more permanent and abiding, the impression more 
lasting and indelible. Moses, the leader of Israel, had suff"ered oppo- 
sition and resistance during his administration ; and having his meek 
and quiet spirit greatly excited by a stiff-necked and rebellious people, 
he was now about to be translated to that happy abode, " where the 



whyte's eulogy. 267 

wicked cease from troubling aud the weary are at rest." But before 
surrendering up liis charge, and leaving the 'people with whom he had 
been associated as a leader for forty years, he takes occasion to stir vip 
their minds by way of remembrance, tells them they had been bond 
men, and that the Most High had taken them and brought them forth 
from the irou furnace. And we, as a nation highly distinguished aud 
enjoying peculiar privileges, are called in the most solemn manner to 
glorify God, to remember the irou furnace out of which we have been 
brought, and to remember that we are to be an inheritance. Look 
back to the period when the first settlers of America fled from oppres- 
sion in the old world, and pitched their tents on the shores of the 
new, for liberty of conscience. They brought with them the genius 
and spirit of liberty, which have descended from father to son, and 
have been transmitted from generation to generation. Is it too much 
in a day of general declension and forgetfulness of Grod, to remind you, 
that to covenanting reforming ancestors, are we greatly indebted for 
these privileges ? They were the pioneers of liberty, civil and religious, 
and to them may be traced the spirit of American liberty. Their love 
of country was of the sublimest cast. The spots on which they fought 
and on which many of them died, are scenes of purer and more substan- 
tial glory than that which was gained of old upon the plains of Mara- 
thon, or at the straits of Thermopyla;. The cool-blooded infidel casts a 
look of ineffable disdain upon the cause and doings of the reformers, 
because he regards them as merely the paltry conflictings of some insig- 
nificant religious sects. The servile advocate of arbitrary power turns 
away from them with disgust, because he is jealous of everything that 
has the heir of a strusro-le for freedom. The bigoted adhei'eut of 
Popery dislikes them, because the reformers thought not altogether as 
he thinks, but made their appeal from the dogmas of erring men, to 
the unerring oracles of the living God. The pilgrim fathers fied from 
oppression, civil and religious, and carried their principles into the 
land of their adoption. And long after their exile, the fight against 
papal and prelatical pretensions, and the encroachments of arbitrary 
power, was kept up in the land of their fathers. The luminaries which 
shone so brightly during the revolutionary struggle, and in setting up 
our beautiful form of government, have passed away one by one, until 
all have sunk beneath the horizon. The intermediate links between 
the rising generation and the past are also giving way, and the brilliant 
luminaries are fast receding from our view. 

The removal of eminent and useful statesmen, should be suitably im- 
proved by all. "Tt is appointed unto men once to die, and after this 



268 THE CAROLINA TRIBTTTE TO CALHOUN. 

the judgment." But death shall not always triumph, nor the grave 
hold its prisoners in evcrla,sting chains. '' Marvel not at this, for the 
hour is coming in the which all that arc in their graves shall hear his 
voice, and shall come forth ; they thtit have done good unto the resur- 
rection of life, and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of 
condemnation." I see around some who have gone down far into the 
vale of years ; others less advanced, and some just entering upon its 
threshold. Let all be admonished by the scene before us. Flee to 
Christ, and lay hold upon him, as the hope set before us. Here is a 
balm for every wound, and healing for every disease. The promises of 
the Most High arc suited to every case. Sometimes the Christian is 
afflicted and ''made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights 
•are appointed him. He is full of tossings to and fro until the dawning 
of the day, his flesh clothed with worms and clods of the dust, his skin 
broken and become loathsome. When he promises himself comfort on 
his bed, and that his couch shall ease his pain, then he is scared by 
dreams and terrified by visions, so that his soul chooseth strangling and 
death rather than life." Arc any of you called to pass through trials, 
through sickness, through darkness and desertion ? Jehovah is saying, 
"When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee; and 
through the rivers they shall not overflow thee ; when thou walkest 
through the fire thou shalt not be burnt, neither shall the flame kin- 
dle upon thee." If yuu are hungering and thirsting after righteous- 
ness, and your soul ready to faint, then he is saying: "When the poor 
and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for 
thirst, I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not for- 
sake them ; I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the 
midst of the valleys ; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and 
the dry land springs of water." If in sickness and sore distress, the 
Lord will strengthen on the bed of languishing. If bereaved of earthly 
friends, he is a "father to the fatherless," the "widow's husband, and 
the orphan's .stay." "Fear not, I am with thee, be not dismayed, I 
am thy God, I will strengthen thee, yea I will help thee, yea I will 
uphold thee by the right haiul of my righteousness." 

The occasion is peculiarly apprt)priate to youth. The success of Mr. 
Calhoun affords great encouragement to the young. "Without patri- 
mony, he acquired a liberal education, and without fortune, or family 
influence, he attained the highest rank among men. He seemed to 
have escaped many of those temptations to which youth are so much 
exposed, and by which so many are led away, and to have been exempt 
from those follies which are so natural to the age of inexperience. Paul 



whtte's eulogy. 269 

speaks of Timothy as being indebted first to the faith which dwelt in his 
grandmother Lois, and in his mother Eunice, for that faith which dwelt 
in him also. And it is no presumption to suppose that Mr. Calholx 
was indebted to a pious ancestry for his great success in life. " I will 
pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy offspring." 
The season of youth is pecidiarly important. 3Iany are the dangers to 
which the young are exposed. On the one hand presumption, and on 
the other a spirit of indifference and of procastination. The young and 
inexperenced are too ready to trust to their own abilities. There is a 
certain thoughtlessness belonging to their period of life, which, preclud- 
ing much reflection on the past, or much anticipation of the future, 
must frequently betray them into mistakes, both in judgment and prac- 
tice. Their passions, too, are more irritable and violent — less under 
the control of reason, less easily subdued by opposition, and less easily 
reconciled to the pain of disappointment. Warm with the love of plea- 
sure, and buoyed up by that airy cheerfulness of temper which is so 
natural to youth, to them the exercises of devotion wear a gloomy aspect, 
and the path of Christianity appears rugged and forbidding. Experi- 
ence is necessary to teach the young the necessity of aid from on high 
to walk closely with God. Repeated violations of the most solemn res- 
olutions, repeated failures in the most solemn engagements, and muuer- 
ous lapses into sin after the most solemn promises, teach the power of 
corruption, and the necessity of some divine conductor to lead us in 
safety through the perilous journey of life. Many, too, unsuspicious of 
deceit on the pjirt of those with whom they associate, readily listen to 
every suggestion which flatters their vanity, or gratifies their inclination ; 
and, instead of seeking first the Kingdom of Heaven, delay their appli- 
cation to the Throne of Mercy xintil they have become hardened in ini- 
quity. " Cto thy way for this time, when I have a convenient season I 
will call for thee." Let mothers take encouragement, and continue 
their efforts to train up their offspring in the nurture and admonition of 
the Lord. It is not necessary to say to you how great is your influence 
for good or evil. The late John Randolph publicly declared that he 
would have grown up an infidel, had it not been that he was accustomed 
from childhood, at his mother's knee, to say, '' Our Father, who art in 
heaven." Teach your children to reverence and fear the Lord, to read 
his word, to respect the sanctity of his holy day. Carry them to the 
Lord Jesus at the throne of grace, and never weary in well doing, for in 
due season you shall "reap the promised reward, if you faint not." 
Finallv, let one and all be persuaded to wait upon the Lord even in the 
way of judgment, to flee to him " who is a hiding from the wind, a 



270 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

covert from the tempest, rivers of water in a dry place, and the shadow 
of a great rock in a weary land." "And besides this, giving all dili- 
gence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowl- 
edge temperance, and to tern terance patience, and to patience godliness 
and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity. 
For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall 
neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly 
into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," 



PORCHEIl'S EULOGY. 



Eulogy ou the late Hon. John C. Calhoun, delivered before the Cliosophic and 
Chrestomathic Societies, of the College of Charleston, on Thursday, July Gth, 
1850, by Frederick A. Porcher, Professor of History, &c., College of 
Charleston. Published by request of the Chrestomathic Society. 

To pay honor to tlie memory of the iUustrious dead is a sad privilege 
which men in all ages and all developments of civilization have exer- 
cised. In rendering our homage to those who have been distinguished 
by the characters of greatness, we do honor to ourselves, for we declare 
our sympathy for those noble traits, and our ability to appreciate them. 
It is an invaluable privilege to live in the same period with a truly 
great man, and the occasion of his death is justly appropriated as a 
solemn opportunity of holding up to the young the noble example of 
the life of him whose end they are called upon to deplore ; and of im- 
pressing on their minds, by suitable ceremonies, a deep and abiding 
sense of the inestimable value in which his deeds are regarded by his 
grateful survivors. 

On such occasions, the youth must learn to appreciate what truly con- 
stitutes greatness, — what are the elements of that perfect character, the 
removal of which, causes all to deplore the chasm that has been made ; 
and to lay up in their memory as rules for future guidance a clear idea 
of those characteristics which have made the death of a man a national 
calamity. 

Intellectual power is not all that constitutes greatness. The truly 
great man is he who finishes his work. The world has never been 
without brilliant men. Every period has had its heroes — men who 
have dazzled the eyes of contemporaries. But every period has not had 
its really great man. Genius is but one of the elements of greatness; 
if others be wanting, it is but the coruscation of a meteor ; it blazes for 
the moment with dazzling brilliancy, and is lost forever in the regions 
of eternal night. He only is truly a great man, who has a conscious- 
ness of work to be done ; who is earnestly devoted to his work ; whose 
life is one of continued labor, who is characterized by industry. 

The present age has been remarkable for intellectual activity, and for 
the great number of men in all departments of life who have gained 



272 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

distinctiou for tliemselves, and added to the glory of their age. Of 
these, how many are there who deserve the appellation of greatness ? 

In that galaxy of "talent which adorned the British Senate, when the 
spirit stirring events of Europe kindled into activity every spark of 
genius, what has been done by those whose names rang loudest in the 
ears of an admiring world ? Where are the results of the labors of a 
Sheridan, of a Fox, of a Mackintosh ? Of these names, once so illus- 
trious, what more can be said, than that their work has been left undone, 
not because time was not allowed for its completion, but because they 
had not applied themselves to it with the earnestness, the devotion and 
the industry which are the true characteristics of greatness ? What 
were they but brilliant corruscations ? 

Greatness is essentially conservative. The truly great man reveres 
his race, he respects himself, and honors the influences which have been 
brought to bear upon his own development- Existing institutions are 
sacred in his eyes. He seeks never to change them, but to apply those 
wholesome correctives which necessity may require, and circumstances 
indicate. He honors himself in honoring the wisdom of his ancestors. 

This want of reverence characterized the French revolution, and 
caused it to result in failure. J^agerly grasping after something new ; 
pursuing with avidity an ideal good, the illustrious men who guided 
that mighty event, struck at the root of all existing national institutions, 
and failed. They spurned the wisdom of their ancestors, and fell be- 
cause men called in question their own. He who devotes his life to 
undoing the labors of his predecessors, has no right to hope that his own 
will be respected. 

True greatness is consistent. The merely brilliant mind, dazzled by 
the alluring light of a spurious philosophy, turns incessantly from one 
object to another, but in this multiplicity of pursuits, no true progress 
is made, no real work done. I do not of course, intend to defend that 
shallow and narrow-minded consistency which attempts to follow unde- 
viatingly the same track, in the vain hope of reaching a given end ; — 
which will not shift a sail even when the wind changes; but that steady 
view of the end to be accomplished which is to be kept ever before us. 
Consistent in its aim and its object, true wisdom, must necessarily, in 
the fluctuating afiairs of humanity, frequently pursue its end by means, 
which to the narrow minded observer, will appear inconsistent. In these 
apparent deviations, the truly great man will bear with patience the re- 
proaches of ignorant cavillers, because he knows that when time will 
have developed his course, his every step, however erratic it may for the 
time appear, will then be most clearly proved, to be an onward progress 
towards the appointed end. 



PORClIEll's EULUGY. 273 

True greatness is full of clieerfulncss and hope. The consciousness 
of work to be done, is itself an ennobling thought, and confidence in our 
ability to perform it, represses all emotions of despondency. He only 
can be happy who sees the goal to which he must direct himself. It is 
uncertainty alone which fills the mind with gloom. The right minded 
man whose eyes are open to the end which he is called upon to fulfil, is 
ever supported by the radiance of hope. 

True greatness is characterized by faith, by love of truth, by perfect 
repose. He who has no faith in the efficacy of his power, must des- 
pond, — he who does not feel and believe in the truth of th6 work which 
it is his mission to perform, must labor without faith, and can produce 
no true result ; he who works without faith for the accomplishment of a 
vain purpose, can never enjoy the repose of a great mind. Perfect re- 
pose is the grand ideal of the ancient masters in art; it is no less beau- 
tiful in tlie moral and intellectual world ; it is tlie finisliing touch of 
the great artist's hand ; it is the consummation of moral excellence ; it 
is the result of the consciousness of power, of faith, of earnestness, of 
truth. 

Assembled together this evening to commemorate the virtues of the 
illustrious departed, I have thought it appropriate thus briefly to analyze 
some of the elements of greatness, in order that, by applying the tests 
to his own character, we may the better investigate and comprehend his 
claims to a place, in the ranks of those niighty spirits, who have not 
lived nor toiled in vain. In his life we find illustrated all the qualities 
which I have enumerated. He was earnest, industrious, reverent, con- 
sistent, and cheerful, and his character was remarkable for faith, for 
truthfulness, and for perfect repose. 

T propose not to enter into a detail of the life of Mr. Calhoun. A 
son of Carolina, his late services are known to all. Born in a remote 
district, at a period when letters had not left the precincts of the me- 
tropolis, he toiled successfully against the difficulties which the state of 
the country opposed to the acquisition of knowledge, and as an earnest 
of the high value which he attached to elementary education, at 
an age when the aspiring votary of ambition longs to launch into the 
busy arena of life, we find him entering a student of Yale College. 
Among the sons of Carolina, whom the reputation of Dr. Dwight 
attracted at the same time to that venerable seat of learning, we find 
the najues of I'On, the Gadsdens, JMacbride, and Grimke. All of 
these have become eminent in their several vocations, but the keen ob- 
servation of Dr. Dwiglit selected Ish. Calhoun as the one who was 
eminently destined to perform a conspicuous part in his country's his- 
18 



27-4 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

tury. -Viid it Avas because to great intellectual power he added the 
earnestness of a truthful and faithful spirit. "With him a college life 
was no season of recreation. He aimed there to accomplish the work 
which was set before him, and succeeded amid all the embarrassments 
of a defective preparation in bearing off one of the highest distinctions 
which a college can confer. 

Soon after his return home, he obtained a seat in the Legialature of 
the State, and while there, he so distinguished himself, that at the next 
election, he was transferred to the Congress of the United States. In 
that body he continued without interruption until, on the election of 
Monroe, he became a member of his Cabinet. From the Cabinet of 
the Executive, he entered on the duties of the Vice-Presidency of the 
United States. In 1833, in obedience to the call of his native State, 
he retired from that office in order to defend the interests of his coun- 
try in the Senate of the United States, and from that time to the hour 
of his death, he was, with a very brief interval of repose, either in the 
service of his State as a member of the National Congress, or in that 
of the Confederacy as one of the Constitutional advisers of the Presi- 
dent. 

For forty years Mr. Calhoun was a prominent citizen. Always 
eminent, he has undergone every variety of fortune. He has been 
borne aloft on the wave of universal popularity ; he has had his name 
used to stigmatise a political party. He has been assailed by opponents 
of every description save one — calumny never aimed a blow at his 
integrity. 

Mr. Calhoun's public life is to be considered in three aspects. 
First, in its development, when between the years 1808 and 1817, 
he acted as a representative of the people ; secondly, as vested with 
executive and administrative powers; and thirdly, in the consumma- 
tion of his work, when in the evening of his days, he devoted his 
great intellectual powers to the object of his fondest aspirations, the 
means of preserving the American Union. 

Mr. Calhoun was born in 1782. A few months earlier, and his 
native district resounded with the peals of artillery by which the 
American army was repulsed from the fortress of Ninety-six. He was 
born then amid the tumults of the revolution, and he was trained in 
habits of love and reverence towards that Union, by whose efforts a 
foreign foe had been driven from his native soil. There is much imagi- 
nation, but little truth in the assertion of Mr. Webster, that the bones 
of New England's dead have whitened every battle-field of the South. 
But though the picture is overdrawn, the associations connected with 



porcher's eulogy. 275 

that UiiioD, under whose auspices Mr. Calhoun first saw the light, are 
hallowed and venerable. The armies of the North were commanded 
by the illustrious Southerner whose mortal remains repose on the West- 
ern Bank of the Potomac; those of the South followed the distin- 
guished citizen of Rhode Island, whose services were rewarded with a 
liome, and who lies in an honored grave on one of those lovely Islands 
which girt the coast of Georgia. The peace which had been won, 
under the auspices of these great leaders was followed by a harmonious 
Union ; the differences which existed were such only as grow naturally 
out of those principles of human nature, which render it as impossible 
as it is undesirable, perhaps unsafe, for men in society to exist without 
party distinctions. 

But the grounds on which parties were then based, were respec- 
table and liberal ; they appealed to the better sentiments of humanity ; 
the political partizan of all sections of the country associated in perfect 
harmony with those of the same party in every other quarter of the 
Republic. 

So long as differences exist with regard to the theory on which gov- 
ernment should be administered, party spirit is wholesome. It is a 
bond of union between the several divisions of the country. When 
Mr. Calhoun commenced his public life, the divisions of parties were 
still based on those philosophical grounds which will cause differences 
even in members of the same household. 

A zealous patriot, he became conspicuous for his nationality ; a true 
American, he regarded with indignation the contumelious spirit with 
which his country was treated by that power which arrogantly claimed 
dominion over the seas; and he devoted himself with generous zeal to 
the support of that administration which dared assert and maintain the 
independence and sovereignty of his country. 

On Mr. Monroe's election to the Presidency, he persuaded Mr. Cal- 
houn to preside over the War Department. This post he held during 
Mr. Monroe's administration, and the powerful influence of his mind is 
said to be still felt in the organization of that branch of the National 
Executive. Mr. Monroe is remarkable for having been re-elected by a 
unanimous vote. That was the era of the extinction of the old parties 
of the first part of our history. In his second term of ofiice, a new 
organization of parties was effected, but unhappily based rather upon 
personal and sectional considerations, than upon those liberal views of 
policy, which alone can give dignity to political parties. Two of Mr. 
Monroe's cabinet were prominent candidates for the Presidency. The 
name of Mr. Calhoun was also for a short time brought forward, but his 



276 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

claim was postponed to those of another, and an older son of Carolina who 
was unhappily cut off before the race was run ; the great Kentuckian, 
then Speaker of the House of Representatives, had his supporters, and 
the popular name of Jackson already bid fair to carry everything 
before it. 

The nation, distracted respecting the choice of the first officer of the 
government, had no doubt, concerning that of the second, and in 1824 
Mr. Calhoun was, by an almost unanimous vote, elected Vice-Presi- 
dent of the United States. 

That year which gave such illustrious testimony to his popularity, is 
remarkable also for being the epoch of a new feature in our history, 
and the development of a principle in our system which showed the 
necessity of protecting by every constitutional means the rights of all 
parties in the Confederacy. 

The manufacturing interests, fostered by the war witli England, 
stimulated by the protection which the high duties of that period 
necessarily required, found themselves, at the restoration of peace, on 
the verge of ruin. Their preservation was due mainly to the sense of 
justice of Mr. Calhoun, who insisted that in the adjustment of 
revenue duties, they might be made to derive that incidental protection 
which would save them from destruction, and enable them in time to 
exist independently of any protection • his influence prevailed, the 
manufacturers were saved, and they repaid him with ingratitude. 

Fostered by his foresight, and by his sense of justice, these interests 
acquired strength, and in the year 1824, they commanded a majority 
in Congress. To promote the general welfare, or in other words, to 
foster the interest of the majority by legislative action was now declared 
to fall legitimately within the province of Congress. The parties most 
interested were found to be situated on one side of the Union, — a sense 
of local interest overwhelmed all considerations of political philosophy, 
and the North and South, for the first time, were arrayed against each 
other. 

Whilst this state of things was developing itself, Mr. Calhoun was 
engaged in the occupations of office, and was excluded by his position 
from operating directly upon public sentiment. lie watched, however, 
with painful interest the development of this new phasis in the history 
of our country, and was keenly alive to the conviction that, if that sec- 
tion which in point of numbers is the weakest, is not protected in the 
enjoyment of its rights, by inviolable constitutional sanctions, the Union 
would forever be in danger of dissolution. For majorities in all popu- 
lar governments are apt to become despotic, and when the majority and 



poroher's eulogy. 277 

the minority arc to be found in different sections of the country, it is 
unreasonable to expect that the minority will ({uietly submit to be 
reduced to a state of colonial vassalage. And here, let me express the 
vain wish, that his country had never lost his services in the councils 
of the nation. His truthful spirit might have influenced the represen- 
tatives of the South so to have acted, as that the baneful spirit of com- 
promise of Constitutional right should never have found favor at the 
South. For, who can now doubt, that if the South had firmly rejected 
all compromise, when in 1821 it was first proposed, — if she had in- 
sisted then that she would have a Union on equal terms, or no Union 
at all, and had adhered to that declaration with manly firmness, the 
Union would at this moment have been as pui'e, as harmonious, as bind- 
ing on the affections of the whole people, as when it was first presented 
to them under the sanction of Washino'tou ? 

These regrets are now alas vain I But the history of the past fur- 
nishes us with instructive lessons. It warns us that ofiiee, even the 
highest, is no place for the true working man. For nearly twenty years 
past, availability for party purposes, not absolute fitness for the office, 
has been the qualification for the Presidency. We have more than 
once had the mortification of seeing our chief magistrate voluntarily 
renounce a power which the Constitution has wisely placed «in his hands, 
and which I believe has never been exercised without ultimately meet- 
ing the approval of the people. Such men have no true sense of their 
vocation; they are puffed up with the trappings and vain decorations of 
official station ; they have neither the faith nor the truthfulness nor the 
courage of true workmen. 

In 1832, South Carolina determined to interpose her own authority 
against the unconstitutional usurpations of the general government. It 
was a grave crisis; one which demanded the obedience of every son. 
The lamented Hayne left his seat in the United States Senate to assume 
the duties of the executive, and Mr. Calhoun resigned the Vice-Presi- 
dency of the United States, to defend his State in the National council; 
and now he entered upon the consummation of his labors, and gave to 
his country those maxims which, though denounced by interested, or 
by ignorant and misguided contemporaries, as revolutionary, will be 
regarded by posterity, which will be compelled to do him justice, as the 
highest evidence of his conservative principles, the never dying testi- 
mony of his devotion to the Union. 

In his early life no local jealousies or interests had arrayed the dif- 
ferent sections of the country against each other. He had seen his 
State refuse to give her vote for the Presidency to one of her own most 



27s THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

valued vSons. lie found his country's independence, her national res- 
pectability seriously compromised. With a patriot's uncalculatingzeal 
he addressed himself to wipe off the national stigma, and his name 
became identified with his country's glory. 

Now, no question of national honor existed. The United States 
were acknowledged one of the great powers in the States System of 
Christendom. But a new spii'it was at work. The doctrine of the 
absolute rule of the majority, a doctrine which has in all ages rendered 
a democracy the most unrelenting of tyi'annies, had obtained possession 
of the Northern mind. 

The Southern trade, which has ever been an object of eager compe. 
tition with Northern nations, was swelling the revenues of the people 
of the North, and unable to bear with moderation that prosperity 
which an equal union could not fail to confer upon them, they grasped 
with insatiable avarice at more, and threatened to employ the arms of 
our common country to enforce obedience to their unholy demands. 

Under these circumstances, Mr. Calhoun urged the application of 
the conservative doctrines which had been promulgated by Virginia 
and Kentucky under the auspices of Madison and Nicholson. He 
insisted that this remedy alone, by preserving unimpaired the rights of 
the minority, could prevent that consolidation of empire, which in a 
country of such diversified interests, must sooner or later degenerate 
into a tyranny, and ultimately experience its fate, terminating either in 
the uncontrolled despotism of an autocrat, or in a severance of its com- 
ponent parts. This eminently conservative doctrine obtained cold favor 
at the South and was denounced without measure at the North. To 
the latter, as it opposed an effectual barrier to their career of legal 
spoliation, it was a stumbling block, and the great Carolinian, who had 
been remarkable for his nationality, was denounced by the ignorant and 
the interested for inconsistency of conduct, and reprobated for hostility 
to the Union. 

Here again let us pause. In 1832, South Carolina stood alone. 
Arrayed against her was the Federal Grovernment, at whose head was 
the most popular President who ever wielded the power of the Confede- 
racy. The South, for whose interest and security she had placed her- 
self in peril stood apart, the North was clamorous for revenge against 
the State which had dared practically to rebuke her avarice; and even 
at home, sons of Carolina were found among the most vehement in 
their denunciations. And if they who are now loudest in the call to 
resistance, if they, who now standing on the watch towers calling out 
in warning tones what of the night, had then listened to the voice of 



porcher's eulooy. 270 

prophetic wisdom, and stood by South Carolina, can a doubt exist, tliat 
in that second crisis in the latter history of our country, the rights of 
the minority would have been forever secured, and the Union pre- 
served ? 

Divided at home, unsupported abroad, our State compelled the Gov- 
ernment to retrace its steps, and for a time harmony was restored to the 
Union. For harmony invariably follows bold and energetic action. A 
minority determined to maintain its rights, adopts the course most likely 
to insure peace. What has ever been gained, I ask not of right, of 
profit, of advantage, for these are not even pretended to have been 
gained, but what even of peace, of quiet, of inglorious ease, has ever 
been gained by a concession of constitutional rights ? 

The only advantage ever gained for the South was the act of the 
Nullification party. Before South Carolina had extorted the Compro- 
mise act from an unwilling Congress, the streets of our city were over- 
grown with grass. Charleston owes the dawn of her commercial pros- 
perity altogether to the action of that party, which, animated by the 
counsels of our great statesman, dared to arrest the progress of usurpa- 
tion, and test the conservative principles of our Constitution. 

But though triumphant in the cause for which she had directly in- 
terposed her action, the want of co-operation prevented South Carolina 
from proceeding to the settlement of the ([uestiou of constituticmal 
right. Divided among themselves, the voice which warned the South 
that the course of Northern aggression would continue to advance, was 
raised in vain. The prophecy of that day is history now. Hardly was 
the question of revenue settled by the compromise act, before a small 
faction of the North raised the ominous note of abolition. From 
an early period in our history, the people at the North have arrogated 
to themselves the guardianship of the morals of the rest of the Con- 
federacy. Utterly disregarding the injunctions of Holy Writ, they arc 
unconscious of the beam which obscures their vision, while they bene- 
volently labor to extract the moat which, perchance, has fallen into 
their neighbor's eyes. Starting from the assumption that they alone 
possess evangelical truth, they have gradually manufactured for them- 
selves, a Gospel of wrath against all who dare to dift'er from them, and 
so perfect has their system become, that one of their most distinguished 
exponents has not scrupled to declare, that he boars within his bosom 
a guide and monitor whose teachings have authority to supersede all 
written laws. 

Encom;aged by concessions at different times made by the South, 
adroitly using against their antagonists the hallowed cry of Unioo, 



280 TTTE CAROLINA TRIBUTF, TO CALTIOUN. 

these persons have fulfilled, in every particular, the predictions which 
were made when the South was first exhorted to stand together in 
defence of her rights. But let us not on this occasion, by the contem- 
plation of passing events, expose ourselves to the risk of becoming 
more warm than the proprieties of the occasion may justify. Enough 
that even now, the united South may save themselves and preserve the 
[Tnion. 

Mr. Calhoun has finished his work. He has toiled for his common 
country, and his latest tones were heard in an impressive appeal for 
that Union in whose service he had exhausted his strcu"th. 

He has finished his work — after the fever of life, he now sleeps. But 
he is not dead; the true worker never dies. The body of the great 
man lies in the tomb, but the spirit that animated it lives, and the 
voice which he uttered continues to be heard, and the words which he 
spake will be repeated with louder and louder tones until they shall 
appear to be the common articulation of a unanimous people. That 
voice will cry aloud with irresistible eloquence, that without equality of 
rights the Union cannot continue to exist. In the fury of party war- 
fare, in the senseless agitations of petty personal strifes, it may be 
smothered for a time, but just as surely as he was guided by the spirit 
of truth, so surely will his dying voice be heard. And not at the 
South alone will it be heard. The North too shall hear it, and it will 
be grateful to her ears as the voice of a deliverer. For sooner or later 
she must be made to know and to feel, that though superiority of num- 
bers are with her, it is the South which possesses the strength, the 
moral power and the resources which lie at the foundation of national 
prosperity. Tossed about by every wind of political doctrine, agitated 
by the alluring light of a meretricious philosophy which is slowly but 
remorsely gnawing the vitals of her social system, she will be compelled 
to acknowledge that the South contains alone the conservative elements 
of national perpetuity. Urged by the spirit of gain to the utmost 
limits of industrial development, she depends on us for those resources 
on which her citizens build the fabric of their mighty fortunes. For 
it is here alone that rest the true elements of our national greatness. 
Let the North then drive us to disunion if she will. For us, the evils 
which the imagination associates with that idea, are but phantoms, — 
on her devoted head the fatal reality will recoil. 

Having rapidly glanced at the labors of the great man, let us as 
briefly review a few points in his character. 

Mr. Calhoun was no party leader. He had his followers, and they 
were the more devoted to liim because they never felt the trammels of 



poroiier's eulogy. 281 

p:irty. No man cvcv had to excuse an action of his life on the score of 
duty to his party. He was magnanimous. The peculiar relations 
which existed between him and Mr. Van Buren, caused a general ex- 
pectation that he would be found in bitter hostility to his administration. 
But men who so thought, little knew the truthful spirit of him whose 
course they had undertaken to judge. 

Perfect repose was a characteristic of Mr. Calhoun. He respected 
opinion, and was never annoyed at the free expression of it. He never 
took umbrage at opposition, never lost his temper even when he knew 
and felt that it proceeded from personal hostility, or from the petty 
vanity of heading a party against a great mind. Trusting in the truth- 
fulness of his principles, he was willing, after announcing them, to leave 
them to the operation of time. No man ever valued less the temporary 
triumph of a party. 

In the social circle, he was no less eminent than in the arena of 
debate. With conversational powers of the highest order, he was 
always hopeful and cheerful. The young hung eagerly about him, and 
the old revered in hiiu the illustration of their own respectability. He 
never carried his greatness with him into society, or more properly, 
greatness so well became him, was so naturally a part of his character, 
combined so harmoDiously with the moral excellence which distinguish- 
ed him, that admiration was swallowed up in love. 

For Mr. Calhoun was a good man ; — modest and unassuming, ho 
never trespassed on the rights of others. Sti'angers admired his intel- 
lectual power, — those who knew him, revered his moral worth. Others 
lament the loss of a statesman, a counsellor, a mighty genius; his 
neighboi's mou.ru the loss of their associate and friend. Thus far we 
may go, but it is not for us to invade the sanctuary of domestic life. 
Hallowed ever be the affections which bind a family together — too 
Bacred for us to dare even lift the veil which covers their affliction. 

South Carolina has been reproached with having followed blindly the 
guidance of Mr. Calhoun. To this charge, I cannot do better than 
reply in the eloquent language of another, "if there be one thing more 
contemptible and unmanly than another, it is tlie being sneered or 
laughed out of what we believe to be right and true. I for one am not 
ashamed to acknowledge that I have implicit confidence in the wisdom, 
ability and integrity of John C. Calhoun. I am not ashamed to 
confess, that considering him as one of the profoundest and most philo- 
sophical statesmen of the country, I aui willing to be guided by his 
wisdom and long tried experience. Who more fit to lead the South 
than the slaveholder and planter — the far-seeing and sagacious states- 



282 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

man — tlie calm and collected senator — the honest patriot — the pure and 
upright man ?" Indeed, it may be generally observed, that the eminent 
men in the South enjoy in a remarkable degree the confidence of the 
people. No one ever spoke coldly of the merits of the Pinckneys, 
of Lowndes, of Hayne or of Calhoun. They commanded the affec- 
tions of those who trusted in them, because their eminence was due 
mainly to their moral worth. It is a trait of the Southern character, 
that mere intellectual power carries little weight. He who would lead 
the Southern mind must be a gentleman. We bow to no superiority 
but that which is based on purity of character. 

It is glorious to be great, to be conscious of power, to feel that on our- 
self the eyes of the multitude are turned for guidance and direction, to 
know that even our enemies are made such by a sense of our strength — 
by a fear of our power. 

It is a glorious thing to be great — to read our history in a nation's 
eyes — to know that our sentiments are destined to form the text books 
for future generations, to read with a prophet's ken the history which 
is yet to be written. 

It is glorious to be great. The very instability of human grandeur 
adds a zest to the charm of elevation. The ceaseless exertion which 
its position calls forth, renders life an uninterrupted course of thrilling 
excitement. 

But when greatness and goodness are allied — when intellectual 
strength is associated with moral purity — when the admiration which 
greatness extorts is lost in the love which goodness wins, then is ex- 
hibited the consummation of earthly perfection, the realisation of 
human bliss. 



HAMMOND'S ORATION. 



An Oration on the Life, Character, and Services of John Caldwell Calhoun. 
Delivered on the 21st November, 1850, in Charleston, S. C, at tlie request of 
the City Council, by J. H. Hammond. 

Faith is an instinct of the human heart. Its strongest, its pilrest, 
and its noblest instinct — the parent of love and of hope. In all ages 
and everywhere, mankind have acknowledged, adored, and put their 
trust iu the great Creator and Iluler of the Universe. And descending 
from the invisible and infinite, to the visible and finite, they have 
entertained the same sentiments, differing only in degree, for those of 
their own species who have received from heaven an extraordinary 
endowment of intellect and virtue. The Ancient Heathen deified them. 
By the early Christians they were enrolled among the Saints. It is a 
shallow and a base philosophy which can see superstition only in such 
customs, and fails to recognize the workings of a profound veneration 
for the attributes of God, as manifested through his favorite Creations. 
A better knowledge of the bounds which separate the natural from the 
supernatural, has taught us in our day to limit our homage, but still it 
is a deep and pure wisdom which counsels us to submit ourselves in no 
grudging spirit to the guidance of those great Minds that have been 
appointed to shed light and truth upon the world. 

To the honor and praise of South Carolina it may be said that she 
has thus far recognized her prophets, and believed their inspiration. 
She has aided and sustained them in the performance of their mission.?, 
with a warm and steady confidence, and she has been faithful to their 
memory. Her loyal reverence for real greatness has ever been a deep 
— I might say a religious sentiment — un tinged with superstition, but 
as profound as it is magnanimous and just. 

For no one of her many noble sons has Providence permitted her to 
evince for so long a period her admiration, her affection, and her con- 
fidence : for no one has she herself endured such trials : no one has she 
ever consigned to his last resting place in her bereaved bosom amid 
such deep and universal grief as him whose life and services we have 
assembled this day to commemorate. For more tlian forty years the 



28-i THE CAROLINA TRTIJUTE TO CALTIOUrJ, 

name of Calhoun has never been pronoixnced in South Carolina without 
awakening a sensation. For nearly the same period it has been equally 
familiar and fraught with as deep an interest to every citizen of this 
wide-spread Union. Few of us here present can remember the era when 
we heard it first. We have grown up from childhood under its mighty 
influence, and we feel that a spell was broken, a tie of life was sundered 
forever, when it ceased to be a living sound. 

The Man is now no more. He has closed his career with us, to begin 
another in a better world. But what he did and what he said while 
here, still live, and will live forever in their consequences — as immortal 
as the Spirit which has returned to God. How he performed his part 
on earth it is ours now to consider. And drying our unavailing tears, 
and burying for the moment in the deepest recesses of our bosoms, the 
love and reverence we bore him, it is our duty to analyze his life with 
the strict impartiality of a distant posterity ; and to bring the thoughts 
and actions he left behind him to the great standard of eternal Truth, 
that we may render complete justice to him, and gather for ourselves 
and our children the full measure of the lessons which he taught. The 
living Man scorned fulsome adulation : and his living Spirit, if per- 
mitted to hover over us now, and to hear our voices and perceive the 
pulsations of our hearts, will accept no offering that cannot bear the 
scrutiny of Time and the severest test of Truth. 

Mr. Calhoun was born in the backwoods of South Carolina, near 
the close of the Revolutionary War. His early nurture was in the 
wilderness, and during the heroic age of the Republic. In youth he 
imbibed but a scant portion of the lore of books, but his converse with 
the volume of Nature was unlimited ; and in the field and forest, by the 
stream and by the fireside, he was in constant intercourse with those 
rouf>h but high-strung men who had challenged oppression at its first 
step, and were fresh from the battles in which they had won their 
liberties with their swords. His father, too, was a wise and strong man. 
For thirty years in the councils of the State, he was as familiar with the 
strifes of politics as of arms. In his rude way he penetrated to funda- 
mentals : discovered that the true foundation of government is the 
j welfare of the governed ; denounced its excessive action ; and opposed 
\ the constitution of the Union because it placed the power of laying taxes 
in the hands of those who did not pay them. Amid such men and such 
scenes, there was little opportunity for what is commonly called educa- 
tion for the young Calhoun. But it may be doubted whether, having 
acquired the use of letters and figures, and been thus furnished with 
the two great keys of knowledge, there could have been a much better 



Hammond's oration. 285 

training for the future Statesman. Pericles and Alexander were, per- 
haps, tauglit but little more by Anaxagoras and Aristotle, than Calhoun 
learned from his few books, from nature, and suclimen. In, tl^is School 
he learned to think, which is a vast achievement. And he was fur- 
nished with high and noble themes for thought, by those whose partial 
knowledge of facts led them to discuss chiefly essential principles, to 
evolve fundamental truths, and to build on them those lofty theories to 
which the exigencies of the times gave birth. He was thus taught not 
only the sura and substance of elementary education, but was imbued 
with that practical philosophy, according to which human afi"airs are in 
the main conducted. It is tcue that thousands have received the same 
lessons and profited nothing. But we know that seed sown by the 
wayside and among stones and thorns, is gathered by the birds, or is 
withered or choked up ; apd it Is only when it falls on good ground that 
it springs up and produces fifty and an hundred fold. It is idle to deny 
the natural dive^'sity of human intellects. It was due, after all, to the 
rich soil of Calhoun's mijid that these noble seed took root, and bore 
abundantly such precious fruits. 

It was not until he had passed his eighteenth year that he seriously 
embarked in the pursuit of Scholastic learning, and the event proved — 
as possibly it would in most cases — that no time had been really lost_ 
Perhaps it seldom happens that the bud of the mind is sufiiciently 
matured before this age, to expand naturally and absorb with benefit 
the direct rays of knowledge, so bright, so piercing, and so stimulating. 
The tender petals eagerly opened at too early a period, often wither and 
die under the overpowering light. At eighteen Mr. Calhpun went to 
the Academy : at twenty to College : at twenty-two he graduated at 
Yale : at twenty-five he was admitted to the Bar : at twenty-six he was 
elected to the Legislature : at twenty-eight to Congress. Thus, though 
apparently starting late, he nevertheless arrived at the gxjal far in ad- 
vance of most of those who reach it. But when he went to the Academy 
he did not dream over books, any more than he did afterwards over the 
aflairs of life. He had learned already what many never learn — to 
think : and to think closely-— to the purpose — searching for the prin- 
ciple. Having acquired this mighty power — for it is a power, and the 
greatest of all — when he did start in his career, he strode onward like a 
conqueror. Difiiculties were mere exercises. Valleys rose in his path, 
and mountains sunk down to a level. First at School : first at College : 
he rose at once to the front rank at the Bar and in the Legislature : 
and was assigned a most distinguished position the moment he took his 
seat in Cono-ress. His course was a stream of lii;Iit. Men of all classes 



286 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

recognized its brilliancy, and hailed him, not as a meteor, but as a new 
star risen in the heavens, which had floated without effort into its ap- 
pointed orbit, and promised long to shed the brightest and most bene- 
ficent beams upon the world. 

What, we may properly ask, was the secret of this rapid and wonder- 
ful success ? How was it that this young man, coming but a few years 
before from the wilderness, late in youth, without knowledge of books, 
unknown himself, and destitute of powerful friends, should, in so short 
a time, not only win his way into the Great Council of the Confederacy, 
but be at once conceded a place among the first, and draw to himself 
the admiration and the hopes of a people ? 

' What should it be that thus their faith could bind ? 
The power of Thought — the magic of the Mind I " 

Mr. Calhoun first took his seat in Congress at the commencement 
of the Session of 1811. From that period may be dated his career as a 
statesman. That career may be properly divided into several epochs, 
each of which is memorable in the history of our country, and was made 
memorable in no small degree by the parts which he performed. The 
first embraces his services in the House of Kepresentatives. The great 
question of the Session of 1811-'12, was that of war with England. 
All Europe was then, and had been for twenty years, in arms, and that 
mighty conflict which terminated not long after in the overthrow of 
Napoleon, and the establishment of the Holy Alliance, was at its height. 
France and England were the two leading belligerents, and both of 
them, in utter disregard of neutral rights, had perpetrated unexampled 
outrages upon us. We had in vain resorted to embargoes and non- 
importation acts, and at length it became indispensably necessary to our 
maintaining any position among nations, that we should declare war 
against one or both of these powers. The direct pecuniary interests of 
the South had been but slightly affected by these outrages. She had 
but little commerce to be plundered — few seamen to be impressed. 
Her only great interest involved — and this she felt in every fibre — was 
the honor of our common country. To vindicate that slie went for war, 
and went for it almost unanimously. South Carolina took the lead. 
Her illustrious Kepresentatives Lowndes, Cheves, Williams, and Cal- 
houn, were the leaders of all those important Committees whose 
province it is to propose war, and marshal the resources for carrying it 
on. And nobly and gloriously did they all perform their duty. Mr. 
Calhoun, placed second on the Committee of Foreign llelations, soon 



uammond's oration. 287 

became its head by the retirement of the chairman, and, before the close 
of liis first Session, he reported and carried through the House, a bill 
declaring war against Great Britain ; and, throughout the momentous 
conflict, undaunted in courage and infinite in resources, he stood forward 
the leading champion of every measure for its vigorous prosecution. 
Young as he was, he shrunk from no opponent in that Congress, never 
before or since equalled for its assemblage of talent. He surrendered 
nothing, and shunned no responsibility. In the darkest and most 
perilous hour of the war, when Napoleon had fallen, and England was 
free to turn the whole of her armament on us ; when the Eastern States, 
not content with denouncing the war through their presses, and from 
their platforms and their pulpits, had assailed in every form the credit 
of the Government : had paralyzed all the financial operations of the 
country, and caused a general suspension of the Southern Banks : had 
given valuable " aid and comfort to the enemy " by loans of specie, and 
were conspiring to withdraw from the Confederacy and make peace for 
themselves : in that desponding hour, when all seemed lost, he did not 
falter for an instant. "The great cause," he said, " will never be 
yielded — no, never I never I I hear the future audibly announced in 
the past — in the splendid victories over the Guerriere, the Java, and 
the Macedonian. Opinion is power. The charm of British naval 
invincibility is gone." 

Mr. Calhoun's course throughout the war can never fail of the ad- 
miration and applause of future times ; and that war was a turning point 
in the history of the world. It established a competitor with England 
for the trident of the ocean, whose triumph is inevitable. And just and 
necessary as it was, and glorious as its result, it gave rise in the end to 
questions in this country, which no human sagacity could have antici- 
pated, whose solution, yet in the womb of time, may be of far greater 
import than the dominion of the seas. 

Mr. Calhoun entered Congress as a member of the Republican party, 
as distinguished from the Federal, and throughout his service in the 
House, acted with it in the main. But he gave many and early proofs 
that his was a temperament which could never " give up to party what 
was meant for mankind." Following his illustrious colleague,* who yet 
survives to our love and veneration, with his powerful intellect unim- 
paired, and his devotion to his native soil more ardent and self-sacrific- 
ing, if possible, than ever, — he warmly advocated a large addition to the 
navy, at an early period of warlike preparations, and, ever after, consis- 

*Hon. Langdou Cheves. 



>r 



288 TUK CAROLINA TKIBUTK TU CALHOUN. 

tcntly and earnestly sustained this most important arm of defence and 
supporter of the State. The Republican party, under Mr. Jefferson, 
liad, with a narrow policy, condemned the navy. But amphibious man 
never attains half his national greatness, until his domain on the water 
equals that upon the land — until the terror of his prowess makes his 
home upon the deep as secure as on the mountains^ and the products of 
his industry float undisturbed on every tide. 

At this early period also, Mr. Calhoun took his stand against the 
llestrictive System, which had been so great a favorite with Mr. Jeffer- 
son and Mr. Madison, as a substitute for war. He denounced it as un- 
sound in i^olicy, and wholly unsuited to the genius of our people j and 
he opposed it vigorously, until it fell beneath his blows. But it may 
well be questioned, whether at that time his opposition was at all en- 
^ lightened by those great principles of Free Trade, then so little known, 

which it was the glory of his later life to develop and sustain under 
such trying circumstances. He then opposed the llestrictive System as 
a war measure, and demonstrated that it was not only inefficient, but 
injurious. Neither then, nor when the import duties were re-adjusted 
at the close of the war, did he appear to have perceived the dangers 
which lurked under the protection which this system gave to manufac- 
tures, nor those which followed such protection when specifically given 
by the direct action of the Grovernment. For, in the debate in 1814, 
while Mr. Webster, now the great champion of protection, declared "he 
was an enemy to rearing manufactures, or any other interest in a hot 
bed, and never wished to see a Sheflaeld or a Birmingham in this coun- 
try/' Mr. Calhoun said " as to the manufacturing interest, in regard 
to which some icav has been expressed, the resolution voted by the 
House yesterday was a strong pledge that it would not suff'er manufac- 
tures to be unprotected in case of a repeal of the Restrictive System. 
He hoped that, at all times, and under every policy, they would be pro- 
tected with due care." And, again in 1816, he advocated without any 
note of caution, the bill introduced by another distiuguished Carolinian,* 
long since snatched from us by a premature death, but whose genius 
and virtues — whose lofty character and inestimable services can never 
be forgotton ; a bill which distinctly recognized the protective principle, 
and introduced perhaps its most oppressive feature. The truth is that 
at that day, political economy was in its infancy. Free Trade was most 
commonly understood to mean merely the freedom of the seas. The 
most sagacious intellects of our country — Mr. Webster perhaps excepted, 

* Hon. William Lowndes. .* 



Hammond's oration. 289 

had apparently no apprehensions of the evils of the false theory of pro- 
tection as applied to us; and that abominable system, since called "the 
American," it had entered into no man's imagination to conceive. Mr. 
Calhoun, at a later pei-iod, so far in advance of his age, was, at that 
epoch, the embodiment jrf the spirit of_the_times, and among its most 
able and effective expounders. 

x\t the crisis of the wai*, when the credit of the government was pros- 
trate, an United States Bank was proposed by the administration, and 
supported by the Republican party. This Mr. Calhoun opposed and 
defeated ; though in a modified form, it would finally have passed the 
House, but for the casting vote of Mr. Cheves. It was, however, on 
account of the extraordinary character of the proposed Bank, that Mr. 
Calhoun resisted it, and not apparently from any doubt of the policy 
or constitutionality of a Bank chartered by Congress. In fact, he had 
himself previously proposed a Bank to be established in the District of 
Columbia, with the express view of getting rid of certain constitutional 
scruples felt by others ; and he was the responsible author of the Bank 
of 1816, whose powerful efforts to prolong its own existence, so fiercely 
agitated the whole union twenty years later, and ended in consequences 
so disastrous not only to its own stockholders, but to the country. From 
Mr. Calhoun's subsequent declarations, it is certain that in his maturer 
years he regarded the whole Banking system, as at present organized, 
as a stupendous evil, and he emphatically declared, that its power, " if 
not diminished, must terminate in its own destruction, or an entire rev- 
olution in our social and political system:" and that of all Banks, he 
regarded a mere Government Bank as the most dangerous, may be safely 
inferred from the fact, that neither the ties of party, nor the entreaties 
of the administration, nor the exigencies of the most critical period of 
the war, could prevent him from vigorously opposing such an Institu- 
tion, thougli not then hostile to an United States Bank. He advocated 
the Bank of 1810, as indispensably necessary for the restoration of the 
currency; and to the last, he believed that no other expedient could 
have effected that great object. He avoided the constitutional question, 
by assuming that so long as the Government received Bank notes at all 
as money, it was bound to "regulate their value," and for that purpose 
a Bank was "necessai'y and proper." He said, however, even then, 
that "as a question de novo, he would be decidedly against a Bank;" 
and when in 1837 he thought it could be done with safety, he took an 
active and efficient pai't in excluding all Bank notes from the Treasury 
of the United States. 

During the Session of 1816, arose another of those great questions 
19 



290 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

which may be said to have had their origin in the war, and which have 
since so divided and agitated our country. Mr. Jefferson had recognized 
the power of Congress to appropriate money for Internal Improvements 
in the case of the Cumberland Road, and, in 1808, Mr. Gallatin, his 
Secretary of AYar, had made a report recommending a stupendous sys- 
tem. It was not until after the war, the expenses of which had been 
enormously increased by the cost of transportation, that the subject at- 
tracted the serious attention of the whole country. Mr. Calhoun 
brought forward and carried in 1816 a bill appropriating the bonus and 
dividends of the United States Bank to Internal Improvements. This 
bill was vetoed as unconstitutional by Mr. Madison, to the surprise of 
all, and most especially of its author, who believed he was carrying out 
the views entertained by Madison, and suggested in his annual message. 
In 1818, Mr. Calhoun, as Secretary of War, made a report on Roads 
and Canals, embracing views and recommending measures fully as ex- 
tensive as those of Mr. Gallatin. On none of these occasions did he 
express his opinion as to the constitutional power of the Federal Govern- 
ment to carry on Internal Improvements. But, if his opinions may be 
inferred from those of his most intimate and confidential friends — from 
the celebrated Message of Mr. Monroe in 1823, and the equally cele- 
brated speech of Mr. McDuffie shortly after — it must be conceded that, 
at that time, he believed the power of the Government to lay taxes, and 
appropriate the proceeds, was limited only by the injunction that they 
should be applied to the '^ common defence and general welfare." This 
doctrine in every way so fatal in our political system, has since received 
its severest blows from his hands ; and, in 1838, he declared that one 
of the most essential steps to be taken, in order to restore our govern- 
ment to its original purity — then the great and sole object of his politi- 
cal life — was to "put a final stop to Internal Improvements by Con- 
gress." 

With the session of 1810-17 closed Mr. Calhoun's services in the 
House of Representatives. Here also terminated an epoch in his career 
as a statesman. He had more than fulfilled the high expectations en- 
tertained of him when he entered Congress. His reputation for talent 
had increased with every intellectual effort he had made. And his 
ability — now universally admitted to be of the very highest order — his 
well-tried patriotism, his unflinching moral courage, the loftiness and 
liberality of all his views and sentiments, and the immaculate purity of 
his life, gave him a position in the public councils and in the' opinion of 
the country, second to no one of that illustrious band whom the greatest 
crisis in affairs, since the revolution — "the second war of Indepen- 
dence" — had brought upon the stage. 



Hammond's oration. 291 

In reviewing Mr. Calhoun's political course up to this period, if 
with the sternness of the historian, we brush aside the splendid halo 
that surrounds it, and call to our aid the experience of a third of a 
century of rapid progress : above all, if we examine it by the effulgent 
light which he, himself, more than all other men, has since shed upon 
the Federal Constitution, and judge it by those rigid and severe tests 
which he has taught us, we cannot fail to perceive that brilliant, useful 
and glorious as it was, to his country and himself, his views in many 
most important particulars, were essentially erroneous ; and that he 
assisted powerfully in giving currency to opinions, and building up 
systems that have proved seriously injurious to the South, and probably 
to the stability of the existing Union. These I have not hesitated to 
point out. It was due to truth, to history, and to him. 

It has been customary to apologize for these errors, by saying that 
they were the errors of youth. But Mr. Calhoun had no youth to 
our knowledge. He sprung into the arena like Minerva from the head 
of Jove, fully grown and clothed in armour — a man every inch himself, 
and able to contend with any other man. A severe moralist would 
point to them as conspicuous proofs of the fallibility of our nature, 
since the deepest devotion both to the Union and his native section, and 
the most perfect purity of purpose, combined with the subtlest intellec- 
tual acumen and the profoundest generalization, could not save him from 
them. There may be much truth and wisdom in this view. But there 
are reasons why Mr. Calhoun should have fallen at that time into the 
opinions that he held, which, properly considered, would remove every 
shadow of suspicion from his motives, if any has ever been seriously 
entertained, and almost wholly excuse the most sagacious of men who 
laid no claim to inspiration. 

Although there were, from the commencement of the Grovernment, 
two parties, one of whom contended for a strict and the other for a lati- 
tudinarian construction of the Constitution, a review of the practical 
questions which arose between them would show that few or none of 
them were of a sectional bearing. The alien and sedition laws, which 
produced the greatest excitement of any internal question, had no such 
tendency. The funding of the domestic debt might have been so acci- 
dentally; but no question, necessarily and permanently sectional, 
attracted serious notice until after the second war. In fact, under the 
administrations of the earlier presidents, all those sectional jealousies 
which had displayed themselves so conspicuously during the confedera- 
tion, and which are so prominent in the debates of the convention that 
framed the Constitution, had been lulled to sleep, and a large proportion 



292 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

of the ablest Southern men were Federalists. The great questions 
■which did agitate the country, on which elections turned, and parties 
really, though not altogether, nominally divided off, were external, not 
internal questions. Our colonial habits still predominated, and we 
looked abroad for our dangers : for our enemies and our friends. 
English, French and Spanish negotiations : Jay's Treaty : the squabble 
with the Directory : the acquisition of Louisiana : the terrible wars of 
Europe: the aggressions on our neutral rights : and, finally, the em- 
bargo — non-importation — non-intercourse laws and war with England : — 
these were the great and deeply interesting subjects which absorbed 
men's minds and colored all their political oj)inions. The Constitution 
was overlooked and A'iolated by both parties; and I believe it may be 
said that on no question of a constitutional character were party lines 
stringently drawn after the election of Mr. Jefferson. Mr. Monroe 
declared, on his accession, that we were "all Federalists — all Kepub- 
licans." 

It was under these circumstances, and at a period when, above all 
others, an ardent and patriotic mind would be least disposed to contem- 
plate sectional interests or stickle about constitutional scruples, that Mr. 
Calhoun entered Congress. It was, then, indeed, the imperative duty 
of the patriot to discard all mere sectional considerations ; and, perhaps, 
to give the most liberal construction to the Constitution, to enable the 
ship of State to meet and ride out the storms which threatened to en- 
gulph it. The diflBeulties were immense. Mr. Calhoun, placed at 
once in a high and responsible position, and taking, as was said at the 
time, the war upon his shoulders, was absorbed, during his first three 
sessions, in devising measures to meet its pressing exigencies; and, 
during the last three, in endeavoring to dissipate its injurious effects 
upon the currency, commerce and industry of the country. And con- 
sidering the history of the past : the conduct of parties on internal 
constitutional questions : the habitual disregard of strict construction 
by the Republican leaders : the acquiescence of older and very able 
men of all sections in the constitutionality of the Bank, the Tariff and 
Internal Improvements : it is not at all to be wondered at, nor to be se- 
verely condemned, that in the universal confusion and the burning glow 
of his broad patriotism, so fanned by current events, he should fail to 
look at the sectional bearing of propositions, or even of constitutional 
constructions. No man — not one in our wide confederacy — North or 
South — foresaw what was coming out of the convulsions of the war; 
and the measures adopted to ease down the country to a state of peace, 
and prepare her for a prosperous career under circumstances so greatly 



Hammond's oration. 293 

different as were those of 1815-17, from any she had yet encountered. 
Carpings and croakings there were, of course, and prophecies of evil 
in abundance. But the results baffled all' predictions : or, at least, 
verified so little of what any had foretold, as to place the wisest seer on 
no higher tripod than that of a lucky fortune-teller. Mr. Calhoun 
never croaked or carped. And, if he erred in straying from the nar- 
row, but only true path of rigid constitutional construction, he may well 
be forgiven for following precedents that were almost consecrated — the 
examples of nearly all with whom he acted — and the impulses of a 
generous, confiding, and wide extended love of country. 

Soon after Mr. Monroe's accession to the Presidency, Mr. Calhoun 
received the appointment of Secretary of War, and took his seat in the 
Cabinet in December, 1817, where he remained until March, 1825. 
This period embraced the second epoch of his career. The future bi- 
ographer will find in it much that will be interesting to relate, but on an 
occasion like this it may be passed over without any minute examina- 
tion. From the commencement of the war it had been discovered that 
the internal organization of the War Department was so defective, that 
it was impossible to conduct its affairs with due efficiency. It was in 
vain that three different Secretaries were in succession at its head 
during the war, and a fourth appointed at its close. When Mr. Cal- 
houn took charge of it, nearly three years after, he found unsettled 
accounts to the amount of forty millions, and the greatest confusion in 
every branch. In a remarkably short period he introduced a perfect 
organization, in which all the details were so thoroughly and judiciously 
systematized, that no material changes have been made to this day. 
He reduced the unsettled accounts to a few millions, which were not 
susceptible of liquidation, and against incessant and powerful opposi- 
tion, curtailed the discretionary expenses nearly one-half, while, at the 
same time, the efficiency of the Army was greatly increased, and his 
own popularity in it grew with every reform, and to the last day of his 
administration. 

Many of Mr. Calhoun's best friends had advised him not to accept 
this appointment. They knew the apparently insuperable difficulties of 
re-organizing a Department which had baffled so many able men. They 
thought that his mind was of a cast too abstract and metaphysical to 
cope with the practical details of the Military System, and were appre- 
hensive lest his brilliant reputation miglit be clouded. They did not 
remember that if real genius is not universal, both war and politics are 
but the concretes of philosophy : that in ancient times these pursuits 
were almost invariably united : that the greatest of metaphysicians was 



294 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

the founder of the science of politics, and trained the greatest warrior 
of antiquity : that Bacon presided in the House of Lords : that Carnot 
"organized victory:" that, in short, though politicians and soldiers may 
spring up every day, and strut their hour upon the stage, no one can be 
a statesman or a general who has not analyzed the structure of the 
human mind, and learned to touch the remotest springs of human 
action. 

High as Mr. Calhoun's legislative talent had been rated, he had not 
been long in the War Department before his administrative talent was 
regarded as quite equal, if not superior; and he rose so rapidly in the 
estimation of his countrymen, that early in Mr. 3Ionroe's second term, 
when he was only forty years of age and had been but little more than 
ten years in the Federal Councils, he was nominated for the Presidency 
by the large and influential State of Pennsylvania. He subsequently 
consented to have his name withdrawn in favor of Gen. Jackson. He 
was then nominated for the Vice Presidency — was elected by a large 
majority, and took his seat as President of the Senate in 1825. In 
regard to his direct connection with that body as its presiding oflacer, it 
is perhaps sufficient to say that, on all occasions he fully sustained his 
reputation. No incident of lasting importance occurred to elicit any 
extraordinary display of peculiar qualities of mind or temperament, 
until near the close of his first term. But the period of that term 
constitutes a most important era in the annals of our country, and also 
in the life of Mr. Calhoun. And hence may be dated the third and 
last epoch in his career. 

I have already adverted to the foct, that the Republican party had 
long strayed from the straight and narrow path of constitutional con- 
struction in which it first set out. The events of the war had so utterly 
prostrated and disgraced the Federal party, that at its close that party 
was dissolved, and the very name of Federalist almost universally repu- 
diated. The check of opposition removed, the Republican party — with 
but few exceptions — fell headlong into the very slough in which their 
adversaries had foundered. They had every thing in their own hands, 
and "feeling power they forgot right." A new party in the mean 
time grew up, which afterwards assumed the name of "National Re- 
publican," and more recently of "Whig," absorbing most of the old 
Federalists, and a portion of the old Republicans. Of this party was 
Mr. Adams — a converted Federalist — who was elected President in 
1824, by the House of Representatives, through the instrumentality of 
Mr. Clay, who became his Secretary of State. The manner of Mr. 
Adams' election : the extreme Federal doctrines of his first message ; 



Hammond's oration. 295 

and, above all, perhaps, the exigencies of opposition, awakened the 
genuine Republicans to some consciousness of their great and long 
cherished errors. They united on Gen. Jackson as their candidate for 
the Presidency. Their manifestoes breathed the true spirit of the Re- 
publicanism of '98; and the Constitution became apparently the favo- 
rite study of those who had come into public life subsequently to that 
period. Mr. Calhoun, it is said, avowed that until this time he had ^ 

never fully analyzed and understood the Constitution. This may be 
readily believed without referring to the instances already mentioned, 
in which he had departed from it. He had always been up to that 

r period in the majority. Majorities do not rely on constitutions. Their ^ ''^ *<' 
reliance is on numbers and the strong arm. It is not to be expected of 
them to study, and it seems to be almost impossible for them to com- 
prehend constitutions, the express purpose of which is to limit their 
power, and hedge in their privileges. It is minorities who look closely 
into constitutions, for they are their shield and tower of safety. ]Mr. 
Calhoun had, doubtless, read the Constitution attentively, and mas- 
- / tered its general principles. But there were parts he had not scruti- 
nized, and a deep and vital spirit running through the whole, which he 
had never yet imbibed, nor had any of the younger men up to that 
period. In fact, a new kind of constitutional questions now arose: or, 
rather, the progress of events had developed new and deeply important 
bearings in old questions. It now became manifest, for the first time 
since the Constitution had gone into operation, that it might be so con- 
strvied as to oppress and ruin one section for the benefit of another. 
And it was also clearly seen that the South was the doomed section, 
and that the chief instrument of destruction was a protective tarifi". 

It was well known that Mr. Hamilton, as early as 1791, had, with 
great power advocated the protection of manufactures, and that duties 
had been imposed with that view; but they were so extremely mode- 
rate as to be of little benefit to that interest, and caused no alarm in 
ethers. The duties had been increased under every subsequent admin- 
istration for the sake of revenue, and had been doubled during the 
war. When in 1816 it became necessary to reduce the war duties, the M ^ ^• 
question arose to what extent they were to be retained for the protec- 
tion of manufactures, and some of them were adjusted for that purpose 
at a high comparative rate, as I have already stated. These duties 
were increased in 1820; and, in 1824, the manufocturers again came 
forward with exorbitant demands, which were acceded to. Then, for '- 

the first time in thirty years, and by but a few voices, the constitutional 
power to protect manufactures was questioned in Congress. It was \ \j 



296 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

now obvious tliat the protected interest had ''an appetite which grew 
from what it fed on;" and that in this country, in evei-y period of 
about four years, for reasons which it is unnecessary to dwell on here, 
it required new and enormous impositions. 

Mr. Adams had warmly recommended the protective tariff, and Mr. 
Clay giving it the ad captandum title of the '' xVmerican system," 
claimed to be its first champion, and made it the leading question in 
the Presidential canvass, from 1825 to 1829. The South had opposed 
it with great vigor and much unanimity in 1824; because, on the prin- 
ciple of communism, it taxed the agricultural interest to support the 
manufacturing : and, inasmuch as we furnished two-thirds of the exports 
that paid for the imports on which the duties were levied, it was fully 
believed, and pretty clearly demonstrated, that our small section paid near 
two-thirds of the revenue of the Grovernment, besides paying the manu- 
facturers an enhanced price on the protected articles we consumed. 
Some of the Eastern States opposed it also, because it injured com- 
merce and navigation, but they ultimately came in to its support. The 
Western and Middle States were decidedly for it. To secure their sup- 
port, and yet retain that of the South, Gen. Jackson gave the equivo- 
cal pledge that he would sustain a "judicious tariff," which, in the 
South, was construed to mean a constitutional revenue tariff; and, 
elsewhere, to mean a protective tariff. 

In 1828, at the end of four years, as was usual, a new tariff bill was 
brought forward in Congress. It was blotched and bloated with the 
corrupt bids of a majority of the Jackson party itself, for manufacturers' 
votes, to be paid in gold wning from the already over-burdened South. 
And so extravagant were these bids, that the protective interests hesi- 
tated to accept a bribe so monstrous, lest they should over-shoot the 
mark and fall under public odium. It was thought, at one time, that 
the vote in the Senate would be a tie, and the fate of the bill would 
depend on the casting vote of the presiding officer. Mr. Calhoun was 
then Vice President, and a candidate for re-election on the same ticket 
with Greneral Jackson, whose success depended entirely on the support 
of Mr. Calhoun's friends. It was confidently believed that save Gen. 
Jackson, there was no one so popular throughout the Union as Mr. 
Calhoun ; and his accession to the Presidency, on the retirement of 
G-en. Jackson, was considered almost certain. It was knowa that he 
was opposed to this bill, and he was now appealed to as the supporter 
of Gen. Jackson, and candidate of the Republican Party for the Vice 
Presidency, and out of regard to his own future prospects, not to give 
his casting vote against it, but to leave the chair, as was not at all 



Hammond's oration. 297 

unusual, and allow the bill to take the chances of the Senate. Mr. 
Calhoun knew the full import of his reply to this appeal. If he not 
only refused to i)ledge himself to a " Judicious Tariff/' but openly and 
unequivocally took his stand against the whole protective system, now 
overwhelmingly popular, he surrendered, in all human probability, every 
prospect of the Presidency, and must pass the remainder of his life in 
combatting in a small and almost hopeless minority, not for power, not 
for glory, but for justice, and, in a measure, for the existence of the 
South. He was thus, in a ci'itical moment, called on to make at once 
and forever, a decision which was to shape his destiny, and perhaps the 
destiny of a whole people. He did not hesitate. He had now mastered 
the Constitution ; he now also saw clearly the fatal tendency of the 
prominent measures brought forward at the close of the war; and 
casting behind him all the glorious labors of the past, and all the bril- 
liant prospects of the future — holding in one hand the Constitution, and 
in the other truth, justice, and the violated rights of his native land, he 
took his post with his little band ; waged in the breach a truceless war 
of two and twenty years, and perished there. 

Neither ancient nor modern annals furnish a nobler example of heroic 
sacrifice of self. Peel yielded to popular demands, and exchanged party 
for public gratitude and influence. Burke gave up friends, but power 
smiled upon him. Self-banished Aristides had already satiated his 
ambition. Cato and Brutus perished in the shock. But, in the early 
prime of life, midway his 3^et unchecked career — with the greatest of 
ambition's prizes but one bound ahead, Calhoun stopped and turned 
aside, to lift from the dust the Constitution of his country, trampled, 
soiled, and rent ; and bearing it aloft, consecrated himself, his life, his 
talents, and his hopes, to the arduous, but sacred task, of handing it 
down to other ages as pure as it was when received from the Fathers of 
the Revolution. Glorious and not bootless struQ-o-le. The Constitution 
has not been purified. It never will be ; but its principles have been / 

made immortal, and will survive and flourish, though it shall itself be 
torn to atoms and given to the winds. 

The magnitude of ]\Ir. Calhoun's sacrifice may be more readily 
appreciated than the diflaculties of his undertaking. The diseases of 
the body politic had not only become seated, but were complicated and 
peculiar. At the bottom was the now established doctrine that the 
majority had the unquestionable and the indefeasible right to place its ^ 
own construction on the Constitution. On this arose not only the 
Tariff", but the Internal Improvement System, which had completely 
triumphed. Immense sums, the .proceeds of high duties, were annually 



298 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

appropriated for the benefit of the Tariff States ; while the United 
I States Bank, by its control over the government funds, concentrated 
the exchanges at the North, and made the protected section the heart 
of the financial system of the Union. Thus was formed a combination 
of sectional interests, sustained by a sectional majority under a cor- 
rupted Constitution, all bearing, with fatal and relentless aim, on the 
devoted South, while behind them another question, purely sectional, 
and having nearly the same geographical lines, was easily to be discerned 
rearing its monstrous crest, and portending dangers, in comparison with 
which all others sunk to insignificance. Among a homogeneous people, 
majorities and minorities frequently change places. Indeed it is natural, 
and where discussion and free action are allowed, it is inevitable that 
they should. But, where they are sectional, even more than where 
they are founded on classes, vital and antagonistic interests make the 
change a Revolution, such as rarely happens without bloodshed. A 
sectional majority, remote, arrogant, and fatally bent on maintaining its 
supremacy and promoting its peculiar interests, never listens to warning 
or to reason ; and the minority, if it has not the courage or the strength 
to tender an issue of force, is soon corrupted, divided, and necessarily 
enslaved. jMr. Calhoun could not have failed to perceive all these 
difl&culties, and, in abandoning, under such circumstances, his high 
position in the majority, to unite his fortunes irrevocably with the 
weaker section, he exhibited an example, almost without parallel, of 
disinterested patriotism and lion-hearted courage j and of that " un- 
shaken confidence in the Providence of God," which, in his latest 
moments, he declared to be his consolation and support. 

Henceforth he is no longer to be viewed as the favorite child of genius 
and of fortune. His path is no longer strewed with garlands, and his 
footsteps greeted with applause. Toiling in the deepest anxiety, yet, 
happily for himself, with the unfailing hopefulness of his nature, to 
accomplish his Herculean task, he encounters at every step the deadliest 
hostility. He is assailed on all sides and from every section — even 
from his own. Envy and malice shoot their long poisoned arrows, and 
ignorance and corruption shower every missile on him ; and it yet 
remains to be decided, and depends in no small degree upon the issue 
of the great struggle now approaching its crisis, whether he shall go 
down to posterity pourtrayed in the colors of the Gracchi of the Patri- 
cians, or the Gracchi of the People. 

The Tariff Bill of 1828 passed the Senate by a majority of one vote, 
and became a law. So exorbitant were its exactions, that, out of an 
import of ^64,000,000 it carried $32,000,000 into the Treasury. Mr. 



Hammond's oration. 299 

Calhoun, who had announced his intention to vote against it, was loud 
in his denunciations of it and of the protective system ; and, at the 
next succeeding Session of our State Legislature, an exposition was 
presented by the Committee of Federal Relations, drawn up by him, in 
which the whole subject was elaborately discussed. It was then that 
he suggested, as the ultimate remedy, a resort to the State Veto — or 
Nullification as it is commonly called. It was not, however, Mr. Cal- 
houn's opinion that the remedy should be immediately applied. It 
was certain that Gen. Jackson and himself would be elected President 
and Vice President in a few months, for, as yet, war had not been 
openly declared against him — his support being essential to the success 
of the Jackson Party. He thought it prudent to await a full explana- 
tion of Gen. Jackson's '^judicious tariff';" and was not without hope 
that, through his influence, the protective system might be broken 
down. Besides, the period was near at hand when the Public Debt 
would be discharged, and no shadow of reason would remain for imposing 
high duties for revenue purposes. But the first message of Gen. Jack- 
son removed every doubt as to his policy, and shewed clearly that he 
meant to sustain the Tariff" interest. He also produced a breach between 
himself and Mr. Calhoun as soon as the prominent Executive appoint- 
ments were confirmed, by reviving an old controversy supposed to have 
been settled many years before. It was evident that Mr. Calhoun 
had been doomed from the moment he had definitely taken ground 
against the Protective System, and war was now made openly upon him. 

Gen. Jackson did indeed denounce the Bank ; and, early in his first 
term he vetoed the Maysville Bill, and proposed a limit to appropriations 
for Internal Improvement : a limit, however, that was uncertain and 
discretionary with the President, and soon abandoned by himself. At 
the same time, he suggested a monstrous scheme for the permanent 
distribution among the States of the surplus revenue arising from the 
imposts ; thus clearly showing that he would uphold Protection, even 
after the payment of the Public Debt, and perpetuate the system for- 
ever by corrupting the States. 

Seeing then that there was no hope of any change iu the action of 
the Federal Government, in regard to the Tariff and its most objection- 
able cognate measures, the question as to what remedy a State could 
apply, was seriously agitated in South Carolina. Mr. Calhoun pro- 
posed Nullification, and a considerable majority declared for it almost 
at once. But it required a vote of two-thirds in the Legislature to call 
a Convention to enact a Nullifying Ordinance. A warm and even 
bitter contest on this question was waged among the people of this 



300 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

State, until the October election in 1832, when the requisite majority 
was obtained. Gov. Hamilton immediately summoned the Legislature 
to assemble — a Convention was called, and, in November of that year, 
all the Acts of Congress imposing duties, and especially the Acts of 
v/ 1828 and 1832, were nullified and declared void, and of no effect in 

the State of South Carolina. The Tariff Act of 1832 was named, 
because as was customary every four years, the duties had been revised 
that year, and shortly before. They had been revised with special 
reference to the payment of the public debt, which was then virtually 
accomplished. The odious scheme of permanently distributing the 
surplus revenue had not been carried, thovigh there was every prospect 
that it would be ultimately ; but while the amount of revenue and 
average of duties were very slightly reduced, by a large increase of the 
free list, comprising articles most useful to the manufacturers, their 
particular interest was in fact much advanced, and the tariff rendered 
more unequal and more oppressive, than by the Act of 1828. Yet it 
was announced by all parties that this was a final and permanent ad- 
justment of the protective system, and that the South could never 
expect any amelioration of it. 

Mr. Calhoun was still Vice President of the Uuited States, but 
G-en. Hayne having been recalled from the Senate and placed in the 
Executive Chair at this crisis, Mr. Calhoun was chosen in December 
to fill his place. Resigning his office, he took his seat in the Senate. 
Gen. Jackson had, immediately after the passage of the Ordinance, 
issued his famous Proclamation, denouncing the proceedings of South 
Carolina as treasonable, nullification as unconstitutional and revolution- 
ary, and even denying, for the first time, I believe, in the history of 
the country, the right of a State to secede. In fact, his doctrines went 
the full length of negativing all State Rights, and consolidating despotic 
power in the hands of the Federal Government. And this was followed 
by a message to Congress, demanding to be clothed with almost un- 
limited power to carry his views into effect by force of arms. The 
crisis was perilous. We were apparently on the verge of civil war, for 
South Carolina, on these hostile demonstrations, flew to arms. It was 
expected generally that Mr. Calhoun and most of the South Carolina 
Delegation would be arrested at Washington. But this was not done. 
A debate, however, arose in the Senate on the Bill embracing the re- 
commendations of the President — commonly called the Force Bill — 
which will go down to future times and live an imperishable monument 
of the patriotism and courage — the wisdom and foresight, the genius 
and eloquence of Mr. Calhoun. His speech is not surpassed by any 



Hammond's oration. 801 

recorded in moderu or iu ancient times, not even by that of the great 
Athenian on the Crown. 

This debate can never be read without its being seen, and felt, that 
Mr. Webster, his only opponent worthy to be named, gifted as he is 
universally acknowledged to be with talents of the highest order, and 
remarkable even more for his jDower of reasoning than for his brilliant 
declamation, was on this memorable occasion, a dwarf in a giant's 
grasp. He was prostrated on every ground that he assumed. And if 
logic, building on undoubted facts, can demonstrate any moral propo- 
sition, then Mr. Calhoun made as clear as mathematical solution his 
theory of our Government and the right of each State to judge of 
infractions of the Constitution, and to determine the mode and measure 
of redress. When the dust of aires shall have covered alike the men, 
the passions and the interests of that day, this speech of Mr. Calhoun 
will remain to posterity, not merely a triumphant vindication of the 
State of South Carolina, but a tower-light to shed the brightest, purest 
and truest rays on the path of every Confederacy of Free States that 
shall rise upon the earth. 

It is not probable that State Interposition will ever again be resorted 
to while this Union continues. Jlore decisive measures will be pre- 
ferred. But if the Federal Grovernment was created by a constitutional 
compact between Sovereign States, binding between those only that 
ratijjed it in Conventions : if only certain enumerated or defined powers 
were entrusted to it in its various departments, and all powers not 
granted to it, explicitly reserved to the States entering into the com- 
pact : and if that compact appointed no special tribunal to decide when 
the Government thus created transcended the powers granted to it, and 
trenched on those reserved by the States, it follows irresistibly that the 
States themselves must decide such questions : for if the Federal Gov- 
ernment by any or all of its Departments assumes as an exclusive right 
this transcendent power, then is that Government sovereign over those 
by whom it was created — the conventions of the people of the States ; 
the limits to its powers, supposed to have been fixed in the most sacred 
and binding form, were only suggestions addressed to its discretion, 
and the whole mass of rights suposed to have been reserved absolutely 
to the States, have no existence save from its grace and will. If, how- 
ever, the States have by the virtue of their Sovereignty — and if it be 
historically true that at the time of each compact, each State was 
separately sovereign and remains so still, — then, if each State has a 
right to judge, in Convention, of infractions of the Constitution, it 
follows, with equal certainty, that such State must determine for itself 



302 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

the mode aud measure of resistance to be applied to such iufraction, or 
the right itself is a nullity. Two modes only of resistance are to be 
found. The one, to withdraw altogether from the violated compact : 
the other to nullify the unconstitutional act and compel the Federal 
Grovernraent to repeal it, or obtain a new grant of power from another 
Convention of the States. The Federal Grovernmeut, or two-thirds of 
the States, may call a Convention for that purpose. A single State 
cannot. It must therefore surrender, not only its reserved rights, but 
its entire Sovereignty, or resist if need be singly and independently, as 
South Carolina did. 

In recommending Nullification to the State of South Carolina in 
preference to Secession, which, at that time it was almost universally 
agreed that a State had a clear right to resort to, Mr. Calhoun was 
mainly influenced by that deep, long cherished, aud I might almost say 
superstitious attachment to the Union which marked every act of his 
career from its commencement to its very close. For if there is one 
feature most prominent in Nullification as a remedial measure, it is that 
it is conservative of the Union — of that Constitutional Union, which is 
the only Union a patriot can desire to preserve. It was also recom- 
mended by the authority of the leaders and founders of the great Re- 
publican Party, Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison, who had proposed this 
identical measure to Virginia and Kentucky in the memorable crisis 
of 1798. 

The Force Bill was passed, but was immediately nullified by South 
Carolina, and remains a dead letter in our State. In the meantime, 
however, both the Administration and opposition in Congress, had 
become alarmed, and introduced bills for reducing the Tariff, notwith- 
standing the loud declaration of finality by both at the preceding Ses- 
sion. Ultimately the famous Compromise Bill was proposed by Mr. 
Clay, the great leader of the Protectionists, and was accepted by Mr. 
Calhoun and his colleagues from South Carolina. It became a law 
and settled this perilous controversy. By this act, and in consideration 
of nine years being allowed for a gradual reduction of the duties, 
the principle of Protection was forever surrendered, and it was pro. 
vided that at the end of that period no more revenue should ever be 
collected than was necessary for the wants of an economical Govern- 
ment. 

No pains have been spared by the majority to detract from the merit 
of the signal triumph achieved by South Carolina and Mr. Calhoun in 
this arduous and memorable contest. More, undoubtedly, might have 
been gained. The term of the reduction was a long one : the final 



Hammond's oration. 303 

enforcement of the Compromise was not, as was afterwards proven, 
sufficiently secured : and the Force Bill was passed — a monument of 
the subserviency and degradation of an American Congress. The 
triumph might have been more complete j but, shared with many, 
far less glorious, had South Carolina been sustained by her sister States 
of the South. Most of these had denounced the Protective System as 
unconstitutional and oppressive, and pledged themselves to resist it with 
us much show of indignation as South Carolina. But when the hour 
of actual conflict came, they shrunk from her side, and repudiated the 
remedy. She took her station in the breach alone, and, single-handed, 
won a victory whose renown can never fade, when she extorted from 
an overwhelming and arrogant majority — in the teeth of declarations but 
a few months old — a full surrender of the Protective principle, under 
sanction of a formal and peculiarly solemn act of Congress. 

Mr. Calhoun had now wholly devoted himself to the reformation 
of the Federal Government, and this first great step accomplished — ■ 
although the struggle had so completely isolated him, that, out of the 
South Carolina delegation, he had scarcely a supporter in either House 
of Congress — he moved onwards in his course unbent and undismayed. 
His personal fortunes were apparently forever shipwrecked, 

" But he beat the sui'ges under him, 



Aud rode upoa their backs." 

His broad vision swept the whole circle of the political system, and he 
noted every plague spot of corruption on it. He made a powerful 
attack on Executive patronage in a Report to the Senate, of which an 
immense number of copies were printed by that body. He struck a 
fatal blow at Executive usurpation by demonstrating that all the dis- 
cretionary powers are vested in Congress, and that the other Depart- 
ments can do nothing '^necessary and proper to carry out" their consti- 
tutional powers, without the previous sanction of the law. He kept a 
steady eye on the Surplus Revenue, which, from various causes, accu- 
mulated beyond all expectation, notwithstanding the reduction of duties 
under the Compromise Act. As this surplus must now be temporary, 
he thought it better to divide it among the States, than to keep it as 
a permanent fund, or to waste it in profligate aud corrupting expendi- 
tures. It was a cardinal maxim with him to keep the Government 
poor. History shows that the most fatal vices of all Governments 
originate in the command o^w^Vuch money. To lessen the unneces- 
sary amount of revenue by curtailing expenditures, was an essential 



804 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

feature of Mr. Calhoun's great scheme of reform. He did uot fail to 
oppose every im.proper appropriation, and defeated many; and finally 
succeeded in carrying his proposition to relieve the dangerous plethora 
of the Treasury, by depositing the Surplus with the States. 

Some of the diseases of the Government Mr. Calhoun thought it 
would be dangerous to heal too suddenly. One of these was the 
United States Bank, whose charter expired in 1836. Gen. Jackson 
had, in 1832, vetoed a recharter of it ; and in October, 1833, he 
removed the Government funds from its coffers, and deposited them in 
the State Banks, without any authority from Congress. 

Mr. Calhoun condemned this high-handed and unconstitutional 
measure, and, believing that the Bank could uot be closed immediately, 
without producing a financial convulsion — so completely had it brought 
the whole financial and mercantile system under its power — proposed 
to give it twelve years more to wind up its affairs. But he did not let 
the occasion pass, without clearly indicating his views of the Banking 
system. He said that the Government ought, at a proper time, to be 
entirely divorced from all connection with Banks. "1 have great 
doubts," he said, ''if doubts they may be called, of the soundness and 
tendency of the whole system, in all its modifications. I have great 
fears that it will be found hostile to liberty, and the advance of civiliza- 
tion — fatally hostile to liberty in our country, where the system exists 
in its worst and most dangerovis form." His proposition failed, however, 
and the Bank fell headlono; into ruin, drafrsina; thousands of victims 

O ? CO o 

after it, and spreading deep gloom o^^er the whole country. It is but 
just however, to say, that this disastrous catastrophe, which did not 
occur until some years later, was due more to its own violent and reck- 
less efforts to extend its influence and operations, to maintain its exis- 
tence, and to revenge its defeat, than to the measures of the Govern- 
ment, unfair as they had been. 

Early in 1837, shortly after Mr. Van Buren's elevation to the Presi- 
dency, the financial crisis which Mr. Calhoun had long predicted, 
came. In the crash, the Banks suspended payments almost every 
where, and among them the deposit Banks. By a joint resolution in- 
troduced by Mr. Calhoun in 1816, the notes of suspended Banks could 
not be received into the Treasury, and by a clause in the recent Deposit 
Act, such Banks could not be used as Fiscal Agents. Thus, suddenly, 
and in a most unexpected manner, the divorce between the Government 
and Banks was fully effected; and believing that no injury could now 
result from keeping them separate forever, Mr. Calhoun cordially and 
powerfully supported Mr. Van Buren's recommendation, at the Extra 



Hammond's oration. oOo 

Session of 1837, to re-organize the Treasury Deijartmeut uu the Sub- 
Treasury plan. To the Bill introduced, Mr. Calhoun moved an 
amendment, that specie only should be received in public dues, and 
made this the sine qua noa of his support. After many defeats and 
great difficulties in a contest that lasted six or seven years, this Sub- 
Treasury system, witli the specie feature, finally prevailed, and has been 
found to work admirably. It has put an end to every prospect of the 
re-charter of an United States Bank, and that once alarming source of 
danger to our Ins^titutions, may be said to be extinct. 

For the part which Mr. Calhoun took on this occasion, he was sub- 
jected to a new and tremendous torrent of abuse and calumny. His 
course, since 1833, had led him to act mostly with the opposition, who 
were endeavoring to check the march of Executive usurpation. This 
opposition was composed chiefly of the surviving Federalists, and the 
recruits they had made from time to time, and now assumed the name of 
the Whig party, and on this very question received a large accession of 
State Rights men, and even Nullifiers, whose attachments and hostili- 
ties to men, and to subordinate measures, blinded them apparently to 
principles. With all these Mr. Calhoun parted, when he took his 
ground in favor of the Sub-Treasuiy. He was charged with deserting 
his party though he had refused openly in the Senate to be called a 
Whig, and had, again and again, declared that he did not belong to 
either of the leading parties, but would act indifferently with whichever 
might be promoting his views of the Constitution and true policy of the 
country. The charge of inconsistency, now so warmly urged against 
him, had been incessantly reiterated from 1828, and was continued, 
more or less, to the hour of his death. It is surprising, that, in an en- 
lighted age like this, such narrow notions of consistency should so ex- 
tensively prevail. The situation of public affairs is ever shifting, and 
the wise and patriotic Statesman must necessarily vary his own course 
to conform to, or oppose every altered state of circumstances. New 
truths are daily developed, not only in the scientific world, but in the 
working of political systems, and especially in our own. Those only 
who are ignorant of these discoveries, can remain without change in 
their opinions; and to change opinions, and not avow and act upon 
them, is to be basely and dangerously false. Cicero, when accused of 
inconsistency in having sided with almost every party to which the con- 
vulsions of his times had given birth, fully admitted the fact, but nobly 
vindicated himself by showing, that, in every change, he had in view 
one consistent object — the good of Rome. Thus Cato, after years of 
warm hostility to Pompey, advised his countrymen to put all power into 
20 



306 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

his hands. Thus Aristides volunteered to serve under Themistocles ; 
thus Solon became the counsellor of Pisistratus, who had overthrown 
his Constitution. Mr. Calhoun himself, as long ago as his speech on 
the repeal of the Embargo, had very properly defined inconsistency to 
be ''a change of conduct without a change of circumstances to justify 
it," Tried by this standard, he was never liable to any imputation of 
V inconsistency. He never moved, in any direction, without giving such 
cogent reasons for it, as must satisfy every impartial mind, if not of the 
propriety, at least, of the reality of his convictions. Influenced by the 
hio-hest and most patriotic considerations, and scorning the false and 
vulo-ar cry of inconsistency, he did not hesitate a moment in magnani- 
mously extending the thorough and effective support of his powerful 
intellect, in the hour of their greatest need, to the man who had been, 
he believed, his most zealous enemy, and to the party which had ex- 
cluded him from its ranks with the most violent anathemas. 

He was now gladly welcomed back; and in the high and commanding 
position in the Republican party, which, through the severest trials, he 
had a second time won for himself, it is difficult to over-estimate what 
he might have achieved, had that party been able to sustain itself in 
power at that time. But the name of Mr. Van Buren was not associa- 
ted in the minds of the people with any brilliant talents or illustrious 
services. Magician, as he was said to be among his partisans, he could 
cast no spell upon the masses, excited by the wide spread financial trou- 
bles of the times, all of which were naturally attributed by the ignorant, 
and not without much justice, to the errors and corruptions of the party 
then in power. He was overthrown in the election of 1840, and the 
Whigs came into the Presidency with a majority in both Houses of 
Congress. An extra Session was immediately called and held in the 
spring of 1841, but, before it met, Gen. Harrison died, and the Vice 
President, Mr. Tyler, who, fortunately for the country, though a Whig, 
had been bred a State Bights Bepublican, succeeded to the vacant Chair. 
The Whigs, elated with victory, rushed to Washington, resolved to 
secure all its fruits without delay. Banks, Tariffs, Distributions of 
Eevenue", the most prodigal expenditures for individual and sectional 
benefit, and Bankrupt Laws, to wipe off the embarrassment of past ex. 
travagance and specvilation, swam in delightful confusion before their 
excited vision. Measures were promptly brought forward, and pressed 
on the minority with unequalled energy and arrogance. Mr. Calhoun 
was the leader of the Republican party in the Senate. He penetrated 
every design, and met every movement of the Whigs. To all the mea- 
sures that could not be defeated, conditions were proposed and sustained 



Hammond's oration. 307 

with such iinanswercablo arguments, that the re-action of public opinion 
compelled the majority to pause, to waver, and finally give way : and 
the close of that Session, which had been called by the Whigs to con- 
solidate their power, found them not only a dispirited, but virtually a 
defeated party ; results which were due in a great measure, to the activ- 
ity and firmness, the powerful logic and profound Statesmanship of iMr. 
Calhoun. 

In that Session, however, and the two succeeding, during which the 
Whigs remained in power, several unconstitutional and dangerous mea- 
sures were forced through. The Bankrupt law which was soon repealed. 
The distribution of Revenue, arising from sales of public lands, which 
expired under the condition imposed on it. The re-charter of the Bank 
which was vetoed by Mr. Tyler. The Tariff Act of 1842, which was 
equally stringent with that of 1828. This Act, which was passed in 
open violation of the Compromise of 1833 — a violation which should 
forever put an end to all faith in Legislative Compromises by Congress, 
was justified on the ground that a larger revenue was indispensable to 
the Government. A justification deliberately prepared before hand by 
the unconstitutional distribution of a portion of the Revenue, and the 
prodigal expenditures which so many corrupt interests had fastened on 
the Grovernment. 

A resort to State action to resist this oppressive act, was again pro- 
posed by some in South Carolina. But Mr. Calhoun resisted it, be- 
cause he believed that the next Congressional Elections would bring the 
Republicans into power, and that they would repeal the law. They ob- 
tained majorities, but did not repeal ; and in 1844 a more strenuous 
effort was made to excite State interposition. But Mr. Calhoun re- 
sisted still. There was one hope left. The approaching election for 
President would give the Republicans complete control of the Federal 
Grovernment, and he desired to await that event. The fact was, that 
after the experience of 1833, — the consolidation principle then avowed 
by all parties and the growing alienations of the different sections 
since, — he believed the Union could not survive the decisive resistance 
of a State on points of vital interest, and his attachment to it was so 
deep that he was averse to putting it to hazard, while any reasonable 
hope was left of redress by other means. A Republican President was 
elected, and in 1846 the Tariff of 1842 was so materially modified as to 
forbid extreme resistance. But after all the struggles of more than a 
(juartcr of a century, the Protective S3'Stem, though somewhat weakened 
in opinion and narrowed in action, still flourishes in violation of every 
principle of free and equal Government — a gross infraction of the Con- 
stitution, and a deadly injury to the South. 



308 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

During the Session of 1843, Mr. Calhoun again strikingly displayed 
his devotion to his country and the impossibility of surrendering his 
serious convictions and his patriotic sense of duty to party considera- 
tions, by strenuously and successfully opposing in common with the 
"Whigs, a proposition from the Republican ranks to take possession of 
the whole of Oregon, without necessity, under doubtful title, and at 
imminent hazard of a war with England. At the close of that Session 
he resigned his seat in the Senate, and retired from public life. 

His health, which, although his constitution had been considered 
diseased and ultimately proved to be so, had been almost perfect 
throughout his long service, began now to exhibit some symptoms of 
decay. And well it might : and well might he be wearied out. For 
ten— in fact for fourteen successive years — he had been engaged in a 
contest that taxed to their utmost all his physical and mental powers. 
Body and spirit, he had devoted himself without a moment's respite to 
the arduous and perilous task of restoring a violated Constitution and a 
corrupted Government. It had been one long, raging storm, with 
scarce a single intermission. A storm such as none but the most hope- 
ful and the bravest would have dared to defy, and in which none but 
the most prudent, the most hardy, the most skilful — endowed with the 
rarest intellect, strengthened by every resource upon which genius can 
make a requisition, and held to the encounter by an unconquerable 
■vyill — could have outrode a second blast. But he stood in the centre of 
the vortex, unblenched, immovable 

"As a tower, that firmly set, 
Shakes not its top for any -wind that blows." 

For the first time a clear expanse was now visible above the political 
horizon. - The Federalists, tracked through all their disguises, were 
again beaten to the ground. They lay prostrate, and the Republicans, 
after the salutary experience of a great reverse and many years of des- 
perate warfare, all brought on by their own departure from the Consti- 
tution, were about to resume, in full, the reins of power, made wiser not 
only by the events of the past, but by the brilliant light which his clear 
and profound intellect had shed and concentrated around the principles 
of Constitutional Grovernment j and Mr. Calhoun, with \\ig entire ap- 
probation of his friends, seized this apparently propitious moment to re- 
tire and recruit after his long and arduous labors. 

The State of South Carolina in May, 1843, nominated Mr. Calhoun 
for the Presidency. But in December following he withdrew his name. 



Hammond's oration. 309 

when it became apparent tliat the Convention to be held at Baltimore 
to nominate the candidate of the whole Republican party, was not to be 
constituted on principles analogous to the Constitution. He could not, 
with his views, accept a nomination, if tendered, by a Convention 
formed in any other manner, and ho did not wish to embarrass the 
party from mere personal considerations. He was not permitted, how- 
ever, to enjoy his repose for any length of time. In the spring of 1844 
he was nominated as Secretary of State by Mr. Tyler, without his pre- 
vious knowledge ; and the nomination being instantly and unanimously- 
confirmed, he could not do otherwise than obey the call. Two critical 
and eminently important negotiations were then on foot. One to adjust 
the Oregon question with England — the other to secure the annexation 
of Texas. In the latter his success was complete, and to him perhaps 
more than to any other, we owe that important and invaluable acquisi- 
tion. The Oregon negotiation was not closed when Mr. Polk came into 
office. He did not tender Mr. Calhoun the re-appointment as Secre- 
tary, but offered and urged on him an Embassy to England, to continue 
that negotiation. But believing his post of duty was, if any where, on 
this side of the Atlantic, he declined the Embassy and returned once 
more to his Plantation. 

In the hands of Mr. Calhoun's successor, the Oregon negotiations 
completely failed. The President was pledged by his party to claim 
the whole of the Territory, and the fulfilment of that pledge was now 
demanded. Should Congress sustain the claim war was inevitable, and 
as the Republican Party had majorities in both Houses, there seemed 
to be no escape. The whole country became alarmed. In this exciting 
crisis, the eyes of all parties, all interests, all classes, were turned 
instinctively to Mr. Calhoun — the pilot who had weathered so many 
storms — the sagacious and patriotic Statesman who had been found 
equal to every emergency. His return to the Federal Councils was 
called for from every quarter, and liis successor in the Senate, Judge 
Huger, with a rare magnanimity, off"ered to give way for him. There 
was no resisting such appeals, and ]Mr. Calhoun returned to Washing- 
ton late in December, 1846. When he took his seat, it was fully 
understood that the Executive, backed by a majority in Congress, was 
resolved to assert our right to the whole of Oregon, and to attempt to 
take immediate possession of it, that the opposition was paralyzed in 
despair. He did not lose a moment in taking a clear, decided and 
open stand against the Administration he had contributed so largely to 
bring into power. He rallied the dispirited opposition, composed 
chiefly of Whigs, with whom he had lately been so violently contend- 



310 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

iug. He appealed to the country against the Republican Party. The 
sound common sense of the people sustained him: and the tide of 
public opinion set in so strongly in favor of a compromise with Eng- 
land, that negotiations were resumed with fresh vigor, and in a few 
months the whole question was adjusted to the entire satisfaction of 
the great body of every party in the two countries. In his whole 
public career, Mr. Calhoun had never rendered a more conspicuous — 
perhaps never a more substantial service to his country ; and it was appre- 
ciated and acknowledged throughout the Union. To him, and almost 
to him alone, was justly and universally accredited the distinguished 
merit of having saved the United States from a war with the most 
powerful nation in the world, about a matter so insignificant as to be 
almost frivolous, and in which neither the honor nor the interests of 
either were seriously involved. Thousands of such wars disfigure the 
pages of history, and have often been the most bloody and disastrous. 
But this affair had hardly been placed in a sure train of settlement 
before another difficulty arose, in appearance far less formidable, but in 
its results likely to prove much the most important in our annals, 
since the Revolution, A sudden, and to the great body of our people, 
most unexpected war broke out with Mexico. Pending negotiations 
with that Republic concerning the western boundary of Texas, a por- 
tion of our Army had been, contrary to the usual courtesy of nations, 
marched into the disputed Territory. The Mexicans attacked it. 
Battles ensued, and a flame was kindled, which spread instantaneously 
over both countries. Congress was called on to declare, or rather to 
recoo-nize the existence of war, and to make the most extensive pro- 
visions for its vigorous prosecution. Mr. Calhoun did not hesitate to 
take his stand against the war. He condemned the invasion of dis- 
puted territory, but as it had been done and battles fought, he was for 
voting such supplies as would enable our army to maintain its position, 
and without recognizing a state of war, to renew negotiations. But he 
stood alone — literally alone — abandoned by all parties in the Senate. 
Yet he did not waver. He knew that peace was the fundamental policy 
of our country, that war was disastrous to all its real interests, and 
was only to be waged to maintain that most vital of all interests — its 
honor. And that could never be involved in a contest with so weak a 
power as Mexico. He saw, too, that all his hopes of reforming the 
Grovernment and resuscitating the Constitution must vanish when the 
sword was drawn. Other fatal consequences were also apparent to his 
keen vision. But ,he could not see all. No human sagacity could 
penetrate them then, or can penetrate them now. Mr. Calhoun 



Hammond's oration. 311 

declared that though he foresaw much evil, for the first time in his 
whole public life, he could not form a rational conjecture of the end — 
that an impenetrable curtain had fallen betwixt him and the future. 
For the first time, too, he was sunk in gloom. And that great heart, 
which had never before felt fear, was stricken with terror — almost with 
despair. Hostilities were carried on with vigor. Victory crowned 
every effort of our arms ; and an imperishable wreath of military glory 
was won for our flag — South Carolina contributing some of the bright- 
est and most unfading flowers. Mr. Calhoun steadily interposed on 
every opportune occasion to arrest the progress of the war, brilliant as 
it was ; and hailed with delight the Treaty of Peace, which was ratified 
early in 1848. 

The first important consequence of the war was an immense exj)endi- 
ture, — far exceeding the ordinary revenues, and entailing on the country 
a heavy debt, which has put an end to all prospect of an early reduction 
of the Protective Duties. The next was the overthow of the political 
party which conducted it, by the elevation of one of its successful 
Generals to the Presidency. An event not due so much to the errors 
committed by the one, or the wisdom and patriotism displayed by the 
other party, as to the disgust felt by a large portion of the people for 
both, and their desire to establish for once an administration that would 
not be governed by party considerations — a desire which has been alto- 
gether disappointed. The third great consequence of the war has been 
the unparalelled excitement occasioned by the attempt and failure to 
make a fair division between the Slaveholding and non-Slaveholdino- 
sections of the confederacy, of the immense territory acquired from 
Mexico — an exciteinent in the midst of which we now are, and the 
result of which it is not given us to foresee. 

I have omit«ted thus far to do more than incidentally allude to a ques- 
tion of the highest and most vital interest, which has long and deeply 
agitated our country, in the conduct of which Mr. Calhoun has acted 
throughout a conspicuous and leading part. At the period of the Decla- 
ration of Independence, African Slavery was established in every 
Colony, and as late as the formation of the Constitution, Slaves were 
still held in every State. But it was a decaying institution every 
where save in the Plantation States, and great apprehensions existed 
among the Southern members of the Convention that the other States 
would combine to emancipate all the Slaves immediately, or gradually. 

They therefore refused absolutely to enter into any union with them 
without a distinct agreement on this essential matter. One great 
object in so constructing the Federal Government that it should have 



812 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

no powei's not clearly conferred upon it, reserving all others to the 
States, was to prevent legislation on this subject. But beyond this 
the Southern Delegates required a Constitutional obligation from all the 
other States, to assist them in maintaining their authority over their 
Slaves, in case of necessity, by restoring fugitives and aiding to put 
down insurrections. They also demanded a recognition of Slaves as a 
permanent element of political power and a fixed caste, by assigning 
them a representation, though a restricted one, in Congress. From the 
adoption of the Constitution up to 1819, the harmony between the 
North and South was never for a moment seriously disturbed by the 
Slave question. At that period, when Missouri applied for admission 
into the Union, the North, where African Slavery was now almost 
wholly extinct, opposed her application, on the ground that Slavehold- 
ing was permitted by her Constitution. A deeply exciting controversj'^ 
immediately arose, which was finally adjusted by the concession from 
the South that thereafter no Slaveholding State should be admitted into 
the Union North of 36° 30' N. latitude. 

For many years after this contest there was no open agitation of this 
exciting topic, and public men in every section generally concurred in 
frowning upon all attempts to bring it forward. It was not until 1834 
or '35, that it again made its appearance on the political stage, when 
petitions were poured in upon Congress to legislate upon it. It was 
then discovered that without attracting much attention, a great many 
Abolition Societies had been formed in the Northern States, who had 
set up presses and printed books, pamphlets, newspapers and engravings 
in immense numbers, and disseminated them North and South for the 
purpose of arousing the people to what were termed the horrors of 
African Slavery. Public lecturers were also employed and sent every 
where. The excitement increased rapidly. The people of the non- 
Slaveholding States seemed ripe for it. But lately they had been appa- 
rently baffled in their attempt to make us the overseers of our Slaves 
for their benefit. No longer having it in prospect to reap the harvest 
of our fields and gather into their own granaries, by virtue of their 
legislation, one-half of their nett produce of the labor of the Slaves, 
they were eager, in their i-age and disappointment to deprive us of the 
Slaves themselves, and blast our prosperity forever. Both branches of 
Congress were soon flooded with petitions, full of the vilest abuse and 
slander of the South, and praying for the Abolition of Slavery and the 
Slave Trade in the District of Columbia. Others followed asking the 
Abolition of Slavery in the Territories, Forts, Dockyards, &c., and of 
the trade between the States. Some demanded the Abolition of Slavery 



Hammond's oration. 313 

iu the States ; and finally it was petitioned that the Union should be 
dissolved to save the North from the sin of Slaveholding. Warm, and 
at length, the most angry debates in Congress were brought about by 
these petitions. At first, few or none professed to be in favor of them, 
yet the nou-Slaveholding majority never would permit the South to 
adopt any decisive measure to exclude them from the Halls of Con- 
gress. In no long while, however, there was a complete change. 
The Abolitionists were soon strong enough to enter fully into the 
political field. They nominated candidates for President and Vice- 
President, and exhibited the startling fact, that, iu that election, they 
held the balance of power between the parties in several of the largest 
States. From that moment they were courted, openly or secretly, by 
nearly every aspiring politician iu the uon-Slavehohling States. They 
soon sent members to Congress as their especial Representatives, and 
struck down every public man in the North who dared to defend the 
institutions of the South. 

Against this violent crusade on the South, Mr. Calhoun took his 
stand at the very first and combatted it with all his powers, at 
every step, and to the latest moment of his life. He succeeded in 
arresting the circulation of Abolition publications through the mail, and 
for a long time he kept their petitions at the thi'eshold of the Houses of 
Congress. In fact. Abolition petitions were formally received iu the 
Senate for the first time, on the last day that he appeared there. From 
the beginning he predicted the progress of this agitation through all its 
stages, and declared that it must inevitably bring about a dissolution of 
the Union, if not put down early and forever. 

While the Abolitionists have directed their attacks against specific 
parts of the Slave system, they have never made any secret of what 
indeed was perfectly apparent, that, from the first, their object was the 
entire emancipation of all the African race in the United States, without 
removal and without compensation to their owners ; since removal or 
compensation are known to be utterly impossible. They proclaimed 
that by the laws of nature all men are free aud equal ; and that African 
Slavery is a social and political evil, and a deadly sin against Grod. 
Mr. Calhoun contended that if our Slavery was a social evil and sin, 
we alone would be the suflerers and should be allowed to deal with it 
ourselves. Politically he claimed for it only the fulfilment of the solemn 
guarantees of the Constitution. But he thought it could not be_ji sin 
since Glod had expressly oi'dained it, nor an evil since both the white 
andTblack races had improved in every point of view under the system. 
He scouted the idea of natural freedom and equality. Men were bori; 



314 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

helpless, and owed life, liberty, and everything to those who nurtured 
them. A state of complete natural liberty was inconceivable. Even 
the wildest savages placed severe restraints upon it. And so far from 
men being created equal, no two men, and in fact no two things, were 
ever yet created precisely equal. Inequality is the fundamental law of 
nature, and hence alone the harmony of the universe. But it was use- 
less to attempt to reason with enthusiastic Abolitionists, or with the 
masses of the non-Slaveholders, equally bigoted in their abstract notions 
of morality, freedom, and equality. It was still more useless to attempt 
to reason with politicians who existed only in the breath of such a 
people. A majority influenced by such ideas, and led on, some by a 
fanatical zeal to enforce what they believed to be truth, others by the 
love of power, and all by the hope of spoil, has never yet been effectually 
checked except by force. 

It has not, however, yet become the plan of the Abolitionists to carry 
their purposes by a direct and decisive exertion of the political power 
they possess. They wish first to acquire a more overwhelming power, 
both political and physical. And, to efi"ect this they have aimed steadily 
to enlarge their own domain and to narrow down that of the Slaveholders, 
while they have endeavored to divide the South by appeals to the con- 
sciences of all, and to the supposed interests of the non-Slaveholders 
among us. And the two great political parties of the North have skil- 
fully aided them in dividing and lulling the South for the purpose of 
keeping up their own connections with their respective allies here. 
They have united in denouncing, and have taught many to denounce as 
ultraists, disunionists, and traitors, all those who have attempted to 
awaken the Southern people to a sense of the dangers that environed 
them. And more did they denounce than all the rest Mr. Calhoun, 
whose sagacity could not be deluded, whose virtue was incorruptible, 
and whose constant exposure of their designs and effective opposition 
to them, was apparently the greatest obstacle to their success. Listen- 
ing to no compromises, and snapping instantly every party tie where 
this transcendent question was involved, he waged mortal combat on 
every issue, open or concealed. The gi-eat difficulty with the Aboli- 
tionists was to identify their cause with some of the great practical 
political questions of the country. The pretended infringement of the 
much abused right of petition could not be made to serve them materi- 
ally, for it was too absurd to contend that Congress was bound to receive 
and treat respectfully all sorts of petitions — petitions frivolous, uncon- 
stitutional, and destructive of law, order, and society. When the an- 
nexation of Texas was brought foi"wai*d, they fastened upon that mea- 



Hammond's oration. 315 

sure and opposed it with great zeal and ranch effect, upon the ground 
that it extended the area of Slavery. But there were too many interests 
even in the North in favor of annexation, and Mr. Calhoun was 
enabled to defeat them signally. But when the Mexican war was 
declared, a new and vast field was opened to them. It was certain that 
a large territory would be gained by that war : and it was scarcely begun 
before it was moved in Congress and carried in the House, and almost 
carried in the Senate, to prohibit Slavery in the domain that might be 
acquired. 

The alarm was immediately sounded, and the South appeared for 
once to be fully roused. A number of Southern States declared through 
their Legislatures that if this Prohibition was enacted they would not 
submit to it. While, on the other hand, a still larger number of 
Northern States made Legislative declarations in favor of it, and in- 
structed their Senators to support it. Thus, at length, the Abolition 
question, always purely sectional, became again, as in the case of Mis- 
souri, but under far more ominous circumstances, the chief element in 
the most important practical political issue of the day. From 1846 up 
to near the close of the late memorable Session of Congress, this contest 
was carried on in various forms with deepening import, until at length 
it entirely absorbed the public mind, and occupied the Federal Govern- 
ment to the almost total exclusion of all other business. Early in the 
last Session it came up on the proposition to admit California into the 
Union. A band of adventurers having assembled in that distant region 
iu unknown numbers, and, to a great extent, of unknown origin — 
scarcely^ny^with legal titles to lauds, and still fewer with fixed resi- 
dences — after calling a Convention without proper authority, formed a 
government and demanded admission, as a Sovereign State, into the 
Union, with boundaries embracing the whole Pacific coast to Oregon, 
and a Constitution, which, for the express purpose of securing the 
support of the non-Slaveholding majority, prohibited Slavery. 

Mr. Calhoun's health, which had been failing rapidly for a few 
years past, had at length become so feeble that it was evident to his 
friends he could not long survive ; and during the previous summer it 
was considered scarcely possible that he could return again to Washing- 
ton. To almost any other man it would have been impossible. But 
when he saw the great battle which he had so long lead, had reached, 
as he believed, its final crisis : and that the fate of his country huno' on 
the momentous movement which was about to be made, he discarded al] 
thoughts of self-preservation, and hastened to the field, resolved to 
spend his last breath in striking one more blow for the great cause of 
the South — the cause of Justice and the Constitution. 



316 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

Arrived at Washington, his health was so feeble that he was soon 
compelled to remain most of his time at his lodgings, and went only 
occasionally to the Senate. In the meanwhile the conflict went fiercely 
on ; and numerous plans for adjusting it were set afloat. Mr. Calhoun 
committed his views to paper, and on the 4th of March, after a long- 
interval, appeared with it in the Senate. But he was not able even to 
read it, and transferred the task to his friend, Mr. Mason, a Senator 
from Virginia. In that speech he traced the territorial history of the 
United States, showing that the non-Slaveholding States, who originally 
owned but one-fourth of the territory of the Union, were about to suc- 
ceed, by the action of the Government and the concessions of the 
South, in getting possession of nearly three-fourths of it : that, by the 
system of revenue and expenditure which had been adopted, much the 
larger portion of the taxes were paid by the South, while the disburse- 
ments were made chiefly at the North : and that, while these measures 
destroyed the equilibrium between the two sections, the Federal Govern- 
ment had concentrated all power in itself, and interpreted the Constitu- 
tion and ruled the country according to the will of a majority, responsible 
only to the Northern section, by which it is elected. The result of all, 
he said, was that " what was once a Constitutional Federal Republic, is 
now converted in reality into one as absolute as that of the Autocrat of 
Russia, and as despotic in its tendencies as any absolute Government 
that ever existed." He showed that the California adventurers had no 
right to attempt to form a State without previous permission from Con- 
gress, and that what they had done was " revolutionary and rebellious 
in its character, anarchical in its tendency, and calculated to lead to the 
most dangerous consequences." He gave a succinct history of Abolition 
from its origin ; shewed how it had gained strength year by year, and 
declared that '' if something decisive was not now done to arrest it, the 
South would be forced to choose between Emancipation and Secession." 
He denounced the childish idea of preserving the Union by continually 
crying " Union ! Union ! the glorious Union !" and expressed his con- 
viction that there was no other way to save it, but by an amendment to 
the Constitution, " which would restore to the South in substance the 
power she possessed of protecting herself, before the equilibrium between 
the two sections was destroyed by the action of the Government." 

No speech ever pronounced in Congress produced a more profound 
sensation there and in the country than this did. The deep and incal- 
culable importance of the questions in issue ; and the fact that this was 
generally regarded as the last efi"ort of an illustrious statesman, who had, 
for almost half a century, led in the councils of the Confederacy, scarcely 



Hammond's oration. 817 

heightened the intensity of the interest created by the novel and start- 
ling, yet sound and prophetic views which had been developed with a 
force and clearness rarely equalled. Mr. Calhoun himself intended it 
rather as a preliminary speech. He still hoped that he could, by his 
iron will, baffle and repel the advances of disease, and that God would 
spare him to consummate this last task. He had only laid down his 
groundwork, and reserved ample materials for reply, after all had exhi- 
bited their positions, and his had been sufficiently attacked. He did 
not even announce what amendments to the Constitution he intended 
to propose. Whatever they were — for he afterwards said that several 
were necessary — the suggestion of them manifested his undiminished 
anxiety for the preservation of a Constitutional Union; and the latest 
offering of his life was laid upon that altar at which he had so long 
worshipped. It is scarcely to be regretted that he did not specify thein, 
for nothing is more certain than that no amendments to the Constitution 
can ever be carried, that will give the South the express power of self- 
protection. They would not receive a single vote from that Northern 
majority, which will ere long be large enough to amend the Constitution 
without the South, if it shall choose to regard forms in perpetrating its 
oppressions. But such amendments, if passed, would not avail the 
South, for her action under them would soon be denounced as revolu- 
tionary, as the clearly Constitutional right of Seeession is now denounced. 
In fact, neither this Union nor any Union or Government can exist 
long by virtue of mere j)aper stipulations. ''Written constitutions," 
said Anacharsis to Solon, "are but spiders webs, which hold only the 
poor and weak, while the rich and powerful easily break through." 
Solon thought otherwise, but lived to see the Government he estab- 
lished completely overthrown. Lycurgus, more wise, forbade written 
laws. His principles were durably impressed, by training from child- 
hood, on the minds and manners of his people, and interwoven with 
the whole social fabric. And they governed the Spartans for six cen- 
turies or more. In modern France no enacted Constitution has sur- 
vived five years; while the Constitution of England, resting on tradi- 
tions and occasional Acts and Charters, appears to bid defiance to time 
and progress. Those Governments only can endure which spring na- 
turally from the social system, and are habitually sustained by it. And 
written — artificial constitutions are indeed but "spiders webs" if they 
do not continually draw their vital breath from the same living source. 
For more than twenty years the Federal Constitution has been a dead 
letter, or a snare to the minority. It has, for that length of time, had 
no material influence in maintaining the Union of these States. They 



318 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

have been held together by habit — by the recollections of the past and 
a common reverence for the patriots and heroes of the Revolution — by 
the ties of political parties, of religious sects, and business intercourse. 
But the events of these twenty years, and mainly the developments of 
Abolitionism, have clearly revealed to us that we have at least two sepa- 
rate, distinct, and, in some esseutial points, antagonistic social systems, 
whose differences can never be reconciled and subjected to one equal and 
just Government, unless our respective industrial interests are left free 
iVoni every shackle, and the fell spirit of Abolitionism crushed and en- 
tirely eradicated. Many of the cords which once bound these two 
systems together have been, as Mr. Calhoun pointed out in his last 
speech, already snapped asunder. The religious bonds have been nearly 
all ruptured — party ties ai'e going fast — those of business are seriously 
endangered. It is vain to hope to preserve the Union by any common 
sentiment of reverence for the past, or even by amending the Constitu- 
tion, unless these severed chains can be relinked tooether, and that 
brotherly love, which mingled the blood of our fathers in the battle- 
fields of the Revolution, can be restored, by Providential interposition, 
to its ancient fervor. It is, however, the province and the sacred duty 
of the statesman, whatever may be the ultimate result, to point out the 
diseases of the Constitution and the Government, and to propose the 
best remedies he can. This was the great object of Mr. Calhoun for 
the last two and twenty years of his career. For this he lived — and to 
this his last efforts and his latest thoughts were consecrated. 

Consecrated in vain ! for already the disease has passed a fatal crisis, 
and there is no longer a remedy that can save. California has been 
admitted and the equilibrium of the Government has been destroyed 
forever. The edict has gone forth that no new slaveholding State shall 
ever enter the Union : and the South, deprived at last, and finally of 
her equality in the Senate, the only safe hold she ever had in this Con- 
federacy, and from which she has so long and so nobly battled for her 
rights, is now condemned to a minority that can know no change, in 
every department of the Federal Government. The Slaveholding States 
have become emphatically the Provinces of a great empire, ruled by a 
permanent sectional majority, unrelentingly hostile to them, and daring 
as it is despotic. If they submit to continue thus, their history is al- 
ready written in the chronicles of Poland, of Hungary, and of Ireland — 
perhaps of St. Domingo and Jamaica. 

After the 4th of March, Mr. Calhoun went but two or three times 
to the Senate Chamber. His last appearance there was on the 13th of 
that month ; and as if the political storms which had pursued him so 



Hammond's oration. 319 

loug were fated to pursue him to the last, he had on that day a warm 
debate, in which he was compelled to maintain the expediency of his 
proposition to amend the Constitution ; and to defend himself from the 
charge of aiming to dissolve the Union. He retired exhausted, and re- 
tvirned no more. But still his thoughts were there, and his anxious in- 
terest for his distracted country lent its excitement to every pulsation of 
his heart. ''If I could have," he said, as his end drew near, ''If I 
could have one hour more to speak in the Senate, I could do more good 
than on any past occasion of my life." 

He expired tranquilly on the morning of the 31st of March. 

The deep and poignant grief which pervaded our State on the an- 
nouncement of this event, although it was not unexpected, I will not 
attempt to depict. Your own hearts retain and cherish a recollection of 
it more vivid and moi'c durable than could be recalled or impressed by 
any words of mine. The same feelings seemed to penetrate almost every 
portion of the Union. Since the death of Washington, no similar event, 
it is generally agreed, has produced a sensation so profound and univer- 
sal. Envy and malice, sectional hostility and party persecution, seemed 
to be instantly extinguished. His real greatness was at once fully 
acknowledged, and all united in paying the highest honors to his 
memory. 

Mr. Calhoun's moral character, as exhibited to the public, was of 
the Roman stamp. Lofty in his sentiments, stern in his bearing, inflex- 
ible in his opinions, there was no sacrifice he would not have made 
without a moment's hesitation, and few that he did not make to his 
sense of duty and his love of country. As a Consul, he would have 
been a Publicola, — as a Censor, Cato — as a Tribifipe, Gracchus. He 
was often denounced for his ambition, but his integrity was never ques- 
tioned. "Ambition is," as Mr. Burke justly said, "the malady of 
every extensive genius." Mr. Calhoun's enemies believed that it in- 
fected him to an extraordinary and dangerous degree. But the enemies 
of every distinguished man have said the same. He undoubtedly de- 
sired power. But there is no evidence to be found, either in his con- 
duct or in his words, that he ever stooped to any mean compliance to 
obtain it, or that when obtained, he ever used it but in the purest man- 
ner and for the welfare of his whole country. The nature of his ambi- 
tion was well tested. Eight years Vice l*resident : for as long a period 
a Minister of State ; six years in the House of liepresentatives, and 
fifteen in the Senate of the United States, he enjoyed all the power of 
the highest offices of our Government save the very highest, and that he 
would in all human probability have attained, but that his aspirations ' / 



o20 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

were siibordiuate to his principles, and these led liim to repudiate his 
party, and tlirow himself into opposition to its corruptions when it 
was at the zenith of its power. 

That he did not reach the Presidency, and that no other statesman of 
the first rank has had the slightest prospect of reaching it for the last 
five and twenty years, are among the most sti'iking proofs of the down- 
ward tendency of our Federal Institutions. 

In private life Mr. Calhoun was remarkably accessible. Open, un- 
suspicious, mild in his manners and uniformly wai'm, cheerful, and 
hopeful, he was interesting, instructive and agreeable to all who had the 
happiness to know him. While in every domestic relation his conduct 
approached as near perfection as we can suppose human nature capable 
of doing. 

The intellect of Mr. Calhoun was cast in the Grrecian mould : intui- 
tive, jjrofound, original — descending to the minutest details of practical 
afiairs; and soaring aloft with balanced wing into the highest heaven of 
invention. He apj)reciated wit and humor, the flights of fancy and the 
keen shafts of sarcasm ; but he either did not possess or entirely failed 
to cultivate the faculties which lead to distinction in these lines. He 
admired and valued high-toned declamation on appropriate occasions; 
and sometimes, though rarely, attempted it himself, and not withoixt 
success. The force of his imagination, his command of language, his 
nobility of sentiment, and his enthusiastic temperament eminently qual- 
ified him for declamation of the highest order, and his themes were as 
well adapted to it as those of Demosthenes himself. But the audience 
to which he commonly addressed himself could not hear his voice or see 
his action, or decid^^his cause under the spell of eloquence. It covered 
millions of square miles, and reached far down the stream of time. And 
his keen judgment and deep earnestness would not often permit him to 
use weapons that could reach eff"ectively those only who were near at 
hand. The intellectual power of Mr. Calhoun was due mainly to the 
facility and accuracy with which he resolved propositions into their ele- 
mentary principles ; and the astonishing rapidity with which he deduced 
from these principles all their just and necessary consequences. The 
moment a sophism was presented to him he pierced it through and 
through, and plunging into the labyrinth, brought truth from the re- 
mote recesses where she delights to dwell, and placed her in her native 
simplicity before the eyes of men. It was in these pre-eminent faculties 
that Mr. Calhoun's mind resembled the antique and particularly the 
genuine Greek mind, which recoiled from plausibilities and looked with 
ineffable disgust on that mere grouping of associated ideas which so 



Hammond's oration. 321 

generally passes for reasoning. It was in conformity with these great 
intellectual endowments that he created all his speeches and State pa- 
pers. It was commonly said of his productions that they were charac- 
terized by extraordinary condensation. But Mr. Calhoun was often 
careless in his diction, and habitually so in the construction of his sen- 
tences. He sought only the words that most clearly expressed his 
meaning, and left their arrangement apparently to chance. What he 
did do was to go straight to the bottom of his subject, following the 
slender plummet line of truth until he reached it. Then he built up in 
a manner equally direct, discarding all extraneous materials : and erec- 
ted a structure, simple, uniform and consistent, decorated with no orna- 
ment for the sake of oi'uament, and occupying no more space than was 
necessary for the purposes in view. 

The faculty of Invention — which is the highest characteristic of 
genius — is the necessary result of rapid and correct analysis and syn- 
thesis. To the possession of these powers then is also due the acknowl- 
edged originality of Mr. Calhoun, which gave such a peculiar charm 
to every one of his productions, as led the public invariably to pronounce 
his latest to be the best. The common mind never looks beneath the 
surface, and draws its conclusions from the facts and arguments that 
float around it. Even rather uncommon minds seldom penetrate very 
deep or very quickly. From whatever subject, therefore, upon which 
such extraordinary powers of analysis and generalization were brought 
to bear, they would necessarily extract ideas lying far beyond the 
range of others, and so new and startling as to overwhelm ordinary in- 
tellects and obliterate their confused remembrances of past productions, 
in which he had carried them delighted through equally unaccustomed 
regions. 

Hence, also, arose and was received the charge, worn thread-bare by 
reiteration, that Mr. Calhoun's mind was too metaphysical and specu- 
lative for conducting the affairs of Government. A charge which, if 
it was not absurd in itself, was signally refuted by his conduct of the 
War, by his organization of the War Department, by his negotiations 
as Secretary of State, by his frequent minute, and accurate, and power- 
ful elucidations of all the financial, commercial, manufacturing and 
agricultural operations of the country — in short, by the whole course of 
his labors from the commencement to the close of his career. It was 
the remarkable characteristic of the Greek mind, now too little appre- 
ciated, to be at once pi'actical and speculative, as in fact it ever has 
been of all really great minds. In the palmiest days of Greece, her 
Philosophers were Statesmen, her Poets and Historians were Warriors. 
21 




322 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

The Astronomer who first predicted an eclipse made a fortune by dealing 
in olives. To a successful Usurper we owe the collection of the scat- 
tered songs of Homer. The mei'e practitioner is necessarily a quack in 
medicine, a pettifogger in law, and a charlatan in politics. 

The colloquial powers of Mr. Calhoun have been highly lauded. 
There is a mistake in this. Strictly speaking he had no uncommon 
endowment iu that line. It is true that he entered readily and easily 
into any conversation, and there were few subjects on which he did not 
throw new light, or at least dissipate some of the darkness that might 
surround them. But he exhibited no sparkling wit, no keen retort, 
none of that liveliness of fancy which so delightfully season and refine 
familiar conversation. Nor was he anything of a raconteur. All these 
things he occasionally enjoyed with much zest, but rarely attempted 
them himself. The conversation in which he really shone was but a 
modified species of Senatorial debate. And, in that, no one approached 
to an equality with him. In the Senate, where time is given for pre- 
paration and the conflict of intellect is conducted for the most part, 
like a cannonade, by heavy discharges at considerable intervals, his 
opponents might make a show of vigorous combat with him. But in 
the close encounter of informal discussion, there was no one who could 
stand before him. The astonishing rapidity of his intellectual operations 
enabled him to anticipate every proposition before it was half stated, to 
resolve it into all its parts, and not only to answer his opponent without 
an instant's hesitation, but to take up his whole train of argument, run 
through it in advance of him, and so turn all his points as to convince 
or at least to silence him. At these times there was a fascination about 
him which none could resist. It was not merely his warmth, his earnest- 
ness, his deep sincerity that charmed, but his reasoning — commencing 
so far back, and disentangling the first elements, the facts and principles 
— moved forward with such simplicity and ease ; such clearness and 
connection • with a sweep so graceful, yet so broad and powerful, that 
you felt as though you were listening rather to a narrative than to an 
argument. There were rarely any tropes or figures, or learned illustra- 
tions, but 3'our very passions were enlisted by the ardour and intenseness 
of his logic, and you were carried unresistingly along, as well by the 
force of your imagination as by the convictions of your judgment. The 
power which he thus exercised was so transcendent that could he have 
seen and conversed with every individual in the Union, he would have 
reigned supreme over public opinion. 

The fame of Mr. Calhoun will rest chiefly on his character as a 
Statesman. Posterity, with a knowledge of events yet concealed from 



Hammond's oration. 323 

us, will analyze it closely. It is believed that it will staud the most 
rigid scrutiny. So many qualifications are necessary to tlie formation 
of Statesmen, and so rare a combination of all the highest moral and 
mental qualities is requisite to constitute one of the first order, that they 
are usually rated rather by degrees of ability, than by the peculiarities 
of talent. Such peculiarities, however, do exist, and so color their 
current opinions, that they are in all countries classed, at least tem- 
porarily, according to the domestic parties whose views they favor for 
the time. In this country, where everything is so new and variable : 
where not only our political institutions are experimental, but our civili- 
zation has not attained a pei'manent standard, there is great difficulty in 
appropriating distinctive names to our Statesmen — a difficulty enhanced 
by the fact that nearly or quite all of our eminent men have, in the 
course of their careers, radically changed some of their opinions : a 
change which indeed few of the great Statesmen of any country, in the 
last eighty eventful years, have escaped. 

Coming into the public councils at a period when twenty years of 
successful experiment had, it was thought, fully tested our Federal 
Constitution, and established the permanence of the Federal Grovern- 
ment — when a vigorous effort to convert it into a central despotism had 
been signally defeated, and all sectional jealousies and apprehensions 
had been lulled, Mr. Calhoun devoted himself wholly and enthusiasti- 
cally to the grand purpose of developing all the mighty resources of his 
country, and raising her to the highest pitch of prosperity and greatness. 
His views were large — far reaching — noble. And his measures were 
in full accordance with them. Whenever, in war or in peace, an exi- 
gency occurred, his active and inventive genius promptly suggested a 
provision for it, always ample, and usually the best that could be adopted. 
AVhenever favoring circumstances invited a forward movement, or a 
wider exertion of energy, he was ever ready with plans thoroughly 
digested and fully adapted to accomplish all the ends in view. While 
close in his calculations, and careful of details, there was nothing low 
or narrow in anything he ever proposed. He had an ineffable scorn for 
whatever was mean or contracted in legislation ; and having an abidins: 
confidence, not only in truth and justice, but in the power of reason, 
and the capacity of the people to appreciate what was right and com- 
prehend the arguments in favor of it, he never for a moment yielded to 
the current popular opinion, when it differed from his own. He ex- 
pected to restrain it by his logic, and ultimately reverse it by the benefits 
his measures would confer. As a Progressive Statesman, leading ar- 
dently during the first part of his career the very van of Progress, Mr. 
Calhoun may be considered a perfect model. 



324 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

When, however, a few years of peace had developed in this new and 
rapidly growing country what it has taken thii'ty years to make manifest 
in older and more closely cemented social fabrics — that Governments 
and Constitutions are more severely tried by the conflicts of domestic 
than of foreign interests, and ambition ; and it became evident that our 
Government was to be perverted and our Constitution set aside, to 
enable one section of this Confederacy to despoil another — then Mr. 
Calhoun became a Conservative Statesman. He saw that, in common 
with the founders of the Republic, he had been deceived in his belief 
that the Constitution had been consecrated by a quarter of a century of 
successful operation, and that all danger of a central despotism had 
passed by. He saw, what many — in all countries — have been too slow 
in seeing — that there is a Progress which, like " vaulting ambition, 
overleaps itself." He recoiled from the operation of machinery he had 
himself helped to put in motion ; and he now ardently devoted all his 
talents and all his energy to arrest the march of usurpation and corrup- 
tion, and to preserve the liberties and institutions inherited from our 
fathers. 

But merely negative and stolid conservatism did not at all suit the 
genius of _^Mr. Calhoun, which was essentially active and ever looking 
forward to the improvement of mankind. He sought, therefore, ear- 
nestly, to discover the principles and theory of Movement that might be 
onward and unfailing — yet regular and safe. In accomplishing this 
task, he sounded anew the depths of human nature ; he re-viewed the 
whole science of politics ; he analyzed the Constitution word by word — 
its letter and its spirit ; and he studied thoroughly the workings of 
our Government. The result was that he lifted himself above all 
parties, and became a Philosophical Statesman — the only true and real 
Statesman. And it was in the wide and exhaustless field now opened 
to him, that he gathered those immortal laurels, whose verdure shall 
delight, whose blossoms shall refresh, whose fruit shall be the food of 
the latest posterity. 

The example of his noble efi'orts to reform the Government and to 
restore the Constitution of his country, distinguished by the display of 
the vastest resources and the most masterly powers of intellect — though 
like Agis, and Conon, and the younger Brutus, he failed in his glorious 
designs — will live forever. But his speeches and writings will constitute 
a new epoch in the science of Politics. Our Federal Constitution, he 
often said, was in advance of the wisdom of those who framed it ; and 
he it was who first thoroughly explored, comprehended, and expounded it. 
He found in it nearly all that was requisite to establish on the firmest 



Hammond's oration. 325 

foundations, a free and popular Government, whicli was his beau ideal 
of Government : and which, though it has had many friends and many 
martyrs and has been illustrated by patriots and heroes, has scarcely 
before had a genuine Apostle. He laid down, for the first time, its 
true principles, and marked out its true limits : and has shown how it 
might, and unless vigilantly watched would depart eventually from those 
principles and limits, and produce all those evils which have so long 
made it odious to the best and wisest men. He has shown, on the other 
hand, how capable, it is of unlimited expansion, to meet all the exigen- 
cies and reap all the benefits of real progress — if its power be confided 
to the proper majorities and their suffrages collected in the proper 
manner : and how its harmony may be kept undisturbed and its duration 
made perpetual, by securing to the minorities the sacred and all-impor- 
tant right of self-protection. In short, he has so thoroughly elucidated 
all the checks and balances of Free Constitutions — simple and confede- 
rated — that henceforth, in the long tide of time, no Republic will be 
erected or reformed on a durable foundation, without a constant recur- 
rence to the theories he has discussed, and the measures he has pro- 
posed ; and a profound observance of the precepts he has taught. 

I have endeavored to point out the most prominent events in the life 
of Mr. Calhoun : the parts he took in public affairs : the services he 
rendered his country : the policy and views by which he was at various 
periods influenced. I have also endeavored to pourtray the most striking 
features of his moral and intellectual character; and have briefly re- 
viewed his Statesmanship. My task is executed, however feebly and 
imperfectly. It would be vain to attempt to fathom the Divine Will, 
and seek to learn why, in this most eventful period of our history, our 
Great Leader has been snatched away, leaving no one behind who can 
fill his place. What we do know is, that high and sacred duties have 
devolved on us ; and imitating his illustrious example, we should go 
forward in the performance of them with " unshaken confidence in the 
Providence of God." 



MESSAGE 

OF THE GOVERNOR OF SOUTH CAROLINA TO THE LEGISLATURE. 

* 

Executive Department, 
Columbia, Nov. 27, 1850. 
F'eUoiv- Citizens of the Senate 

and House of Repixsentatives : 

Since your adjournment in December last, Soutli Carolina lias pre- 
sented a scene of sadness and affliction. In a few months, four of her 
faithful public servants, exercising distinguished and highly responsi- 
ble public trusts, under the Federal and State Grovernments, have 
passed from time to eternity. To this bereavement, it behooves us as a 
people, humbly to submit, in the encouraging assurance that the chasten- 
ings of Providence are tempered with mercy and loving kindness. 

On the 31st of March, in the City of Washington, John Caldwell 
Calhoun, one of the Senators from this State, terminated his earthly 
career. The announcement of the death of so eminent a citizen called 
for the strongest manifestations of grief from a large portion of the 
Republic. In intensity of feeling and deep pervading gloom, it renewed 
the heart-felt exhibition of mourning which occurred in December, '99, 
when the fatal truth was realized that George Washington had ceased 
to be numbered with the living. 

While this great Confederacy of co-equal Sovereignties, through 
their common agent, portrayed in lofty terms the character and services 
of the deceased, several of the States themselves, as well as the people 
of many sections of the Union, in the most impressive forms in which 
sorrow is susceptible of expression, proclaimed to the political commu- 
nities of the world that a great man, morally and intellectually, had 
fallen. The accompanying resolutions of the Commonwealth of Penn- 
sylvania, and the reports of the late Mayor of Charleston, and the 
Committee of 25, appointed by the Executive to bring the remains of 
our late Senator to South Carolina, alone furnish satisfactory evidence 
on this subject. 

Although it may be with truth affirmed, that personally, Mr. Cal- 



J 



GOVERNOR SEABROOK S MESSAGE. 827 

IIOUN was unknown to his countrymen, yet, perhaps, no public servant 
ever had a stronger hold on their affections. This was the result of a 
settled belief, that to deep sagacity, an enlightened judgment, and pro- 
found wisdom, he added a patriotic ardor and integrity of purpose 
which no force of circumstances could subdue or weaken. If, from a 
fearless assumption of responsibility and entire freedom from party 
trammels, on all questions involving principle, he was occasionally 
exposed to the rebukes of a certain class of politicians, still, the meed 
of the people's admiration, if not actual concun-euce, was never with- 
held from him. 

With all the lofty qualifications of a consummate statesman, our 
great leader was deficient in the lower, yet not unfrequently important, 
attributes of the mere politician. In determining the relative influence 
of circumstances on the progress and destiny of nations, and in esti- 
mating the force of their combinations, his perspicacity was pre-emi- 
nent. Unadapted to the character of his mind, and the elevated ends 
at which he aimed, the task of carrying an assailable point by address, 
adroitness in contrivance or other expedients, formed no part of his 
labors. Possessing a thorough knowledge of the human mind, and the 
springs of human action, political causes and their efl'eets, he could, 
with rare penetration, unfold. In the moral, as in the physical world, 
there are fixed laws, which, under the same circumstances, produce like 
results. In steadfastly adhering to these as his guide, he was at all 
times able to eliminate the truth of a case amidst the obscurity and 
embarrassment that encompassed it. Far in advance of the age in 
which he lived, the discoveries of his intellectual vision, which the 
ordinary eye was incapable of appreciating, were, on certain subjects, 
often considered as the visionary speculations of an habitual alarmist. 
In illustration of his prophetic power, the wide-spread efi'ects of abo- 
lition aggression might be appropriately cited. If his admonitions and 
warnings, so early and solemnly uttered in the Senate, had been prac- 
tically attended to, the present perilous condition of the Southern com- 
munity never would have been reached ; nor would the mind of the 
public have been startled by a proposition to amend the charter of 
Union, as a measure necessary to secure the permanence and safety of 
the domestic institutions of the South. 

Because it was the fundamental law, Mr. Calhoun was among the 
most ardent and undeviating supporters of the Federal Constitution. 
Guided by the soundest principles of political ethics, he justly main- 
tained that the only safe and effectual mode of preserving a partnership, 
whether among individuals or States, was to resist every encroachment 



328 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

on the terms of agreement. One act of unchecked usurpation, he was 
well aware, would constitute a precedent for another, until, by a series 
of unwarrantable measures, adopted at various, and it may be distant 
dates, the distinctive characteristics of the original covenant no longer 
existed in practice. The time of resistance to unlawful authority is at 
the commencement of its assaults, because the power of the many, 
under the panoply of might, is perpetually encroaching on the rights of 
the few. The tendency of all majorities, moreover, is to despotism. 
In their recognition of the Ordinance of '87, unwarrantably enacted by 
the old confederation, and in assenting to the Act admitting Missouri 
into the Union, the Plantation States unwittingly inflicted perhaps an 
incurable evil upon their institutions and domestic quiet. 

Mr. Calhoun's name is intimately associated with the history of 
the United States for the last forty years. During that eventful period, 
every measure of high public interest received the impress of his 
master mind. On the science of Govei-nment, as exemplified in the ope- 
ration of our institutions, and that of the Kepublics of antiquity, his 
speeches and writings have shed a flood of light. While he admitted 
that the Constitution of our country was the work of pure and patriotic 
men, and is a proud monument of human wisdom, yet, in neglecting to 
provide ample securities for the weaker section of the community, and 
relying too confidently on parchment barriers for the protection of the 
social organization of the respective parties, its framers have furnished 
instruments for the destruction of their own labors, by a slow, but 
certain, process. 

Always on the side of liberty and justice, the South Carolina states- 
man was sleeplessly vigilant in detecting the insidious advances of 
power, and confining the central authority within its strictly constitu- 
tional orbit. Aware of the centripetal tendency of all political associa- 
tions, under a federal head, he labored so unceasingly to maintain the 
Union by preserving the integrity of its members, as to subject himself, 
among the latitudinarians, to the imputation of Southern predilection. 
Duty and patriotism alike impelled him to the adoption of this course. 

The Congress, at an early period of our history, had not only exer- 
cised ungranted powers, but had applied them to the promotion of sec- 
tional purposes, first by openly plundering, through the forms of law, 
the property of one-half the States for the benefit of the other half ; 
but more recently by other means, which threatened the extinction of 
their independence and sovereignty. To compel submission to its edicts, 
the authority of the Executive had been unwarrantably enlarged. 
Prior, indeed, to that despotic enactment — the Force Bill — the Presi- 



GOVERNOR SEABROOK's MESSAGE. 329 

dent of tlie United States had announced his solemn resolution that, 
should resistance by a State to any measure of the General Grovernment 
be attempted, he would suppress it with the entire military force of 
the country. In fine, separately and unitedly, the Executive and 
Legislative departments had each avowed and assumed the right of 
determining the extent of its own powers, and thereby repudiating any 
title in the States to enforce the restrictions they had originally imposed 
on the several fiduciaries of the Federal Compact. 

In opposing, on every occasion, with all the strength of his gigantic 
intellect, these bold and reckless attempts to convert a Republic of 
checks and balances into a Democi-acy, governed by the will of an 
interested and irresponsible majority, the pen of the eulogist is alone 
furnished with abundant matter to exhibit in its true light Mr. Cal- 
houn's reverence for the noble bequest of our fathers, and his deep 
devotion to the principles of constitutional liberty. His elaborate expo- 
sition of the prominent doctrine of the State Rights school 5 that the 
Union of '89 was a Union of States, and not of individuals; and as 
an unavoidable deduction, that "in cases of deliberate and dangerous 
infractions of the Constitution, the States, as parties to the compact, 
have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose to arrest the pro- 
gress of the evil, and to maintain within their respective limits the 
authorities, rights and liberties appertaining to them;" is unsurpassed 
for clearness of conception, logical reasoning, and sound conclusion, by 
any intellectual efi:brt of ancient or modern days. If the important 
truths it embodies be disregarded by the American people, it is not 
difficult to predict that, at no distant day, the bond which unites their 
respective sovereignties will be severed forever. 

Had Mr. Calhoun been a party zealot, he probably would have been 
elevated to the post of Chief Magistrate. It is certain that at one 
time, the road of ambition was open before him, but he "chose to 
tread the rugged path of duty." For a quarter of a century, the 
acknowledged leader of the State Rights party, he labored assiduously, 
by precept and example, to detect and establish its land-marks. Keep- 
ing steadily in view the great ends of his system, the possibility of 
their immedate or prospective attainment, depending on the compara- 
tive difficulty of the circumstances under which he was called to act, 
was nevertheless an aim, in his judgment, to be constantly kept in 
view. For this reason, he would, at times, in his Senatorial capacity, 
assail the measures of his own political friends, and by co-operating 
with their opponents, render himself liable to the charge of inconsist- 
ency, if not dereliction of duty, while in reality he was only maintain- 



330 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

ing his own independence and consistency. These occasions involved 
generally considerations affecting directly or incidentally the relative 
powers of the Federal and State Governments. 

Our faithful sentinel died at his post, his mind dwelling to the latest 
moment on the mighty topic which had for many years engrossed his 
undivided attention. He had long seen the dangers the domestic 
institutions of the South would have to encounter, unless averted by 
the influence of wise and patriotic counsels. His last speech so ably 
portrayed the peril of our situation, and the causes which had produced 
it, that had it pleased Providence to give him the hour he seemed so 
anxious to possess, another successful invasion of the guaranties of the 
Constitution, unless truth proved powerless on the occasion, would not 
have resulted from federal action. His potential voice, alas, will never 
again be heard ! The record of his opinion and acts constitute his 
legacy to his countrymen. By scrupulously avoiding the guidance of 
a levelling philosophy, and crushing in embryo the delusive and unfra- 
ternal measures which the spirit of a turbulent and restless age has 
engendered, we shall be followiYig the example of him whose whole life 
was a continuous effort to adapt his intellectual energies to their proper 
function — the search of immutable truth. 

Mr. Calhoun had nearly attained the full age allotted to man ; he 
had rendered invaluable services to his country, and the cause of con- 
stitutional government; his public career having been as distinguished 
for the political evils he had averted, as the good he had accomplished ; 
whilst his character, in all the relations of private life, was such as the 
breath of calumny had never ventured to assail. Let, then, the erec- 
tion of a memorial, worthy both of his exalted reputation and of the 
enduring gratitude of the people of South Carolina, be the crowning 
act of their constitutional authorities. Erect it where the framers of 
our laws and the youth of our State may, as they contemplate it, 
imbibe the noblest principles of patriotism, of wisdom, and of virtue. 

In accordance with these views, I recommend that the lot of four 
acres in front of the State House be purchased, with the consent of 
the owners of the property, at a fair valuation ; that a monument to 
receive his remains, composed entirely of the products of our soil, be 
erected in the centre; and that the grounds, skilfully ornamented with 
shrubbery, be converted into a public walk. 

It is known that for several years Mr. Calhoun employed the inter- 
vals of leisure left him by pressing public engagements, in preparing 
for the press some political works, which he deemed of importance, not 
only to his own reputation, but to the interests of the country. These, 



GOVERNOR SEABROOK's MESSAGE. 331 

embracing an elementary treatise on Government, and an elaborate dis- 
quisition on the Constitution of tbe United States, lie had just com- 
pleted before his death. The two would make, perhaps, au octavo 
volume of about 450 pages. An inspection of the lesser work, that at 
my request was exhibited to me by his eldest son, during a visit which 
I made at the family residence, and the opinion of a highly competent 
judge, who has given to the larger work a rigid examination, warrant 
me in saying, that perhaps no contribution on tlie same or similar sub- 
ject, equals them in amount of thought, argument and research. It 
may safely be predicted, that the entire composition will stand as dis- 
tinguished in the political literature of the day, as the illustrious states- 
man himself was pre-eminent among the public characters of his time. 
The exalted fame of the author, and the honor and proud position of 
the State which he so long loved and served, forbid that these monu- 
ments of his genius, and of his vmtiring industry and devotion to the 
public weal, should be given to the world in the ordinary way. Nor 
would the common usage, so often condemned by the deceased, of 
appealing to the Federal Government for its countenance and support, 
be sanctioned by the people of the State. I feel assured, too, that his 
family, who have yielded his mortal remains to the land of his birth, 
will never surrender into other hands, the distinctive memorials of his 
predominant intellect, and of his public and private virtues. 

I therefore recommend that these, as well as other important papers 
which he left behind him, be applied for and published in this State, 
by legislative authority; that the Governor be authorized and requested 
to employ a suitable person to superintend the publication of two 
editions, one in the best style of modern typography, and the other to 
be furnished at as cheap a rate as possible; and that whatever profits 
may accrue, be for the benefit of Mr. Calhoun's family. 

Every citizen within our limits should possess a copy of this legacy 
to the cause of constitutional liberty. It will teach him not only to 
understand, but to estimate the value of his rights. As the time of 
decisive action has arrived, let it be entered on the record, that South 
Carolina has not only preserved the unconquerable spirit of indepen- 
dence, but the sacred oracles of political wisdom. 

WHITEMARSII B. SEABROOK. 



RHETT'S ORATION. 



Oration of the Hon. R. Barnwell Rhett, before the Legislature of South 
Carolina, NoTember 28, 1850. 

Gentlemen of (Tie Senate and House of Representatives : 

The Governor of the State has appointed me to deliver before you, 
" an Oration on the life, services, and character,'' of the late John C. 
Calhoun. 

Great men, in all ages, have been considered as reflecting distinction 
on the States of their nativity ; and therefore, public honors have been 
rendered to their remains by their country; and the chisel of the 
Sculptor, the pen of the Poet, and the voice of the Orator, have been 
invoked to celebrate and perpetuate their memories. This time-honored 
custom, practiced by every people, should especially be observed by 
Republics towards great public men, who, whilst living, have lived for 
their country, and dying, have left behind them enduring monuments 
of their genius and patriotism. Republics rest on the virtues of their 
public men. Other forms of government may live, and often live more 
surely, without love of country ; but with republics, patriotism is life. 

To cherish this great virtue, therefore, is not only the impulse of 
gratitude, but the dictate of the most obvious policy. And to the dying 
statesman, (so far as this world is concerned, and next only to the 
remembrance of him by those whose hearts are one with him in the 
domestic circle,) what can be so cheering, so consoling, as the conviction 
that he shall not be forgotten by his country ; and that, unmindful of 
his errors and weaknesses, his countrymen, gathering together as we 
now do, in the halls of their Legislature, amidst the emblems of mourn- 
ing hung around them, with all the dignitaries of the State to participate 
in their sorrow, shall think only of those virtues and services which, 
bearing him up to a lofty fame, have also borne with him his native 
State, and united her name with his own throughout the civilized 
world ! For the sake of the living and the dead, we this day pay public 
honors to the late John C. Calhoun. 

A distinguished statesman and philosopher has observed, that the 
characters of men are formed before they are seven years old. This 



RHETT S ORATION. 333 

observation, althougli perhaps a little exaggerated, is true in the general 
position it is intended to affirm — that all the great elements of character 
are stamped into the mind before childhood, or boyhood, has ended. 
Here begins the moral inequality of men, by which one is raised to 
honor, and another to dishonor. Men seldom change in their moral 
characteristics, from what they are at their earlier periods of existence. 
Manhood is not the seed-time, but the harvest, of our principles. We 
then act upon them, as they are grown within us, and carry them out 
in the moral warfare of life, for good or evil, to others and ourselves. 

Mr. Calhoun was ushered into life by that first and greatest of all 
earthly blessings, a good parentage. His father was a brave, intelligent 
and patriotic man, used to the dangers and privations of a frontier life, 
and schooled in the great principles of liberty, by the hard contest of 
our Revolution. His mother was of a family whose sufferings attested 
their gallant devotion to the cause of freedom. Two out of three of her 
uncles fell in battle, and the third was long immured in the dungeon of 
a prison-ship, at St. Augustine. From such parents, a son might well 
be expected to arise of elevated morality, and of the noblest patriotism. 
Born in the midst of the Revolution, he grew up by the side of those 
who had participated in its arduous and bloody conflicts, and cauMit 
from their lips the stern lessons they inculcated with their swords in 
the battle-field, that '^ resistance to tyranny is obedience to Grod." The 
public opinion of our whole community, just after the Revolution, was 
eminently patriotic. Men were esteemed, not according to the factitious 
consequence which wealth or fashion can impart, but according to the 
services they had rendered in that great struggle by which we acquired 
our liberties. Amidst such influences, such a mind as Mr. Calhoun's 
must have moved as in a kindred element, and drank in the inspirations 
of patriotism which filled the air with its voiceless but resistless teach- 
ings. Living in the country, retirement deepened all his impressions. 
There were no city pleasures around him, to beckon him away from 
virtue ; no city vices, to sap the energies and cripple the noble impulses 
of his nature. Nor did affluence lay its benumbing hand on his aspira- 
tions. Self-denial and labor, not ease and luxury, were his early lot ; 
and the habits these inspired, led him on to a life of continual industry, 
and of glorious usefulness and success. Under such influences, Mr. 
Calhoun's early life was passed. Youth had nearly flown, and he was 
engaged in the simple pursuit of planting, when his brother urged him, 
at the age of nineteen, to enter upon one of the liberal professions. But 
content with the peaceful and unambitious employment of agriculture, 
he declined the proposal, placing against it, what he deemed, imprac- 



334 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

ticable conditions. He required that his niotlier, witli whom lie lived, 
should give a free consent to his leaving her ; and that his brother 
should engage to provide him with the means, for seven years, to educate 
and prepare him for a profession. Fortunately for his country, these 
kind and generous relations appreciated him far higher than he appears 
to have estimated himself. His mother, with that disinterested love 
which mothers only can feel, freely bade him go from her side to tread 
the paths of improvement and usefulness, and his brother pledged the 
means he required. His classical and collegiate course justified their 
fondest anticipations. Whilst instructors predicted his future greatness, 
all his associates at school and college remember their fellow-student 
with admiration and affection, and tell with pride and pleasure, of their 
early connection with him. His preparation for the Bar was so thorough 
and ample, that, with his commanding abilities, on entering it, he 
stepped at once to the head of his profession. Such a man could not 
long remain in private life. He was soon elected to our State Legis- 
lature, at the head of the ticket. From the State Legislature, where he 
distinguished himself by his thorough knowledge and anticipation of 
public affairs, he was sent, in 1810, to the Congress of the United 
States. 

Gentlemen, to delineate Mr. Calhoun's life, we must portray his 
conduct and services. " Our lives are two-fold," made up of internal 
and external actions. Our internal life, which is our real life, consists 
of thoughts, intentions, and emotions. This, no eye can see, no hand 
can write, but the eye and hand of Omnipotence ; and it will only be 
read a^Llhe great day of account. Our external life consists of our con- 
duct and services to other men, and to our country. These we can 
investigate, and from them, we may infer the hidden life, out of which 
flows all of our visible actions. 

Mr. Calhoun's pumic life and services cover an immense tract of 
intellectual achievements. To follow him at every step of his triumph- 
ant progress, may well become the biographer, but is not compatible 
with the brief task assigned to me. I shall not, therefore, attempt what 
it would be impossible to perform, consistently with your patience or 
the time allotted me, but shall content myself with the humble en- 
deavor to exhibit him before you as a statesman, upon three subjects 
only — the war of 1812, the tariff, and slavery. Upon his policy and 
speeches with respect to these great subjects, I know he chiefly rested 
his title to future fame. 

The war of 1812 was a great war. It was great, not on account of 
the hosts engaged in battle, or the thousands who were slaughtered in 



riiett's oration. 385 

its progress, but on account of the principles it vindicated, and the 
manner in which those principles were vindicated. Viewed merely as 
a contest against unjust power, it is by no means an ordinary event in 
the history of nations. Great Britain aimed at nothing short of recolo- 
nizing the United States. All she ever desired in founding us as 
colonies — and all she ever sought to accomplish, before her pretensions 
of taxing us, was the control of our commerce. This she endeavored 
to do through her orders in council, and the lawless depredations they 
authorized. Practically, she asserted, and attempted to enforce the 
pretension, that the United States should carry on no commerce with 
Europe, except by her permission, and from her ports. In this point 
of view, the war of 1812 was a war for national independence. But it 
was far greater in the principles which it involved. The rights of 
neutrals, between belligerent nations, have been for ages a matter of 
contention. The object of this war was to vindicate these rights, against 
the pretended right of search, and that of paper blockades falsely set up 
by Great Britain. It did not settle, by distinct acknowledgment, the 
rights of neutrals on these points, but it practically established them by 
tacit consent. The United States are now too powerful on the ocean, 
for any nation to make an enemy of her by attempting to enforce against 
her as a neutral, the old pretensions of Great Britain. A change of 
positions is gradually taking place ; and at no distant day. Great Britain, 
no longer the first power on the ocean, will need the protecting shield 
of these principles, against the greater strength of other nations. With 
the United States of America in the ascendant, all the great maritime 
States of the world will thus be in their favor, and will look'back^o the 
war of 1812, as the great source of their triumph and vindication. 

In such a contest — a contest for national independence and the libertv 
of the seas — Mr. Calhoun was found amongst the first to counsel 
against submission. In the Congress of 1810, and that of 1811, he 
raised his voice for open and uncompromising resistance. His proud 
and free spirit disdained the non-intercourse policy, which Mr. Jeffer- 
son and Mr. Madison had put in force throughout the United States. 
This policy was the result of fear of the power of Britain. She had 
determined to plunder us ; and we, to escape her plundering, denied 
ourselves all the benefits of the free commerce to which we were entitled 
by the laws of nations, and self-infliction, not resistance, was the policy 
of these distinguished statesmen. Fear is, indeed, the worst of all 
counsellors; and when, instead of enforcing right, it adds to our wrongs 
and sufferings, it is as injurious as it is contemptible. The conse- 
quence in this case was, that the patriotism of the country seemed to be 



336 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

guaged by our gains ; an internal dissatisfaction spread throughout all 
those parts of the Union most immediately affected by this timid policy. 
Contrasting it with war, Mr. Calhoun denounced it, in one of the 
first speeches he delivered in Congress, in a strain of philosophic invec- 
tive seldom equalled in the annals of oratory. 

''This system," he argued, "renders Grovernment odious. The 
farmer enquires why he gets no more for his produce, and he is told, it 
is owing to the embargo or commercial restrictions. In this he sees 
only the hand of his own governiuent, and not the acts of violence and 
injustice which his system is intended to counteract. His censures fall 
on the Government. This is an unhappy state of the public mind ; 
and even, I might say, in a government resting essentially on public 
opinion, a dangerous one. In war, it is different. Its privations, it is 
true, may be equal or greater; but the public mind, under the strong 
impulses of that state of things, becomes steeled against sufferings. 
The difference is almost infinite between the passive and active state of 
the mind. Tie down a hero, and he feels the puncture of a pin; 
throw him into battle, and he is almost insensible to vital gashes. So 
in war. Impelled alternately by hope and fear, stimulated by revenge, 
depressed by shame, or elevated by victory, the people become invincible. 
No privation can shake their fortitude ; no calamity break their spirit. 
Even when equally successful, the contrast between the two systems is 
striking. War and restriction may leave the country equally exhausted; 
but the latter not only leaves you poor, but, even when successful, dis- 
pirited, divided, discontented, with diminished patriotism, and the 
morals of a considerable portion of your people corrupted. Not so in 
war, in that state, the common danger unites all, strengthens the bonds 
of society, and feeds the flames of patriotism. The national character 
mounts to energy. In exchange for the expenses and privations of 
war, you obtain military and naval skill, and a more perfect organiza- 
tion of such parts of your administration as are connected with the 
science of national defence. Sir, are these advantages to be counted 
as trifles in the present state of the world ? Can they be measured by 
moneyed valuation ? I would prefer a single victory over the enemy, by 
sea or b*y land, to all the good we shall ever derive from the continua- 
tion of the non-importation Act. I know not that a victory would pro- 
duce an equal pressure on the enemy; but I am certain of what is of 
greater consequence, it would be accompanied by more salutary effects 
on ourselves. The memory of Saratoga, Princeton, and Eutaw, is 
immortal. It is there you will find the country's boast and pride — the 
inexhaustible source of great and heroic sentiments But what will 



RHETT S ORATION. 337 

history say of restriction ? What examples worthy of imitation will it 
furnish to posterity? What pride, what pleasure, will our children find 
in the events of such times? Let me not be considered romantic. 
This nation ought to be taught to rely on its courage, its fortitude, its 
skill and virtue, for protection. These are the only safe-guards in 
the hour of danger. Man was endued with these great qualities for his 
defence. There is nothing about him that indicates that he is to con- 
quer by endurance. He is not encrusted in a shell ; he is not taught 
to rely upon his insensibility, his passive suffering, for a defence. No, 
sir, it is on the invincible mind, on a magnanimous nature, he ought to 
rely. Here is the superiority of our kind. It is these that render man 
the lord of the world. It is the destiny of his condition, that nations 
rise above nations, as they are endued in a greater degree with these 
brilliant qualities." 

He brought forward propositions at this session of Congress to pre- 
pare for war ; and at the next session reported, as Chairman of the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, the declaration of war, written by Mr. 
Monroe, the Secretary of State. After the downfall of Napoleon, in 
1813, Great Britain, disembarrassed of the contests in Europe, was left, 
with her veteran troops, to carry on the war with the United States. 
The opposition in Congress and out of Congress sought to paralyze the 
efforts made to carry on the war successfully. They were fully and 
powerfully represented in Congress. Alluding to the reverses of our 
arms on our frontiers, Mr. Webster sarcastically exclaimed: "This 
was not the entertainment to which we were invited!" And throuo-h- 
out the New England States, the decided front of opposition to its con- 
tinuance was raised. In this state of things, it was strongly urged in 
Congress, that our condition was desperate; and that, at any cost, the 
war should be closed. The opposition was developed on the Loan Bill, 
now brought forward to carry on the war. Mr. Calhoun advocated a 
stern prosecution of the war, and delivered that speech which was read 
at the head of our armies. It is impossible, even at this day, to read 
the conclusion without catching the fire of his lofty eloquence. 

"This country is left alone to support the rights of neutrals. Peril- 
ous is the condition, and arduous the task. We are not intimidated. 
We stand opposed to British usurpation, and, by our spirit and efforts, 
have done all in our power to save the last vestiges of neutral rights. 
Yes, our embargoes, non-intercourse, non-importation, and finally, war, 
are all exertions to preserve the rights of this and other nations from 
the deadly grasp of British maritime policy. But, (say our opponents,) 
these efforts are lost, and our condition hopeless. If so, it only remains 



388 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

for US to assume the garb of our condition. We must submit, liumbly 
submit, beg pardon, and bug our chains. It is not wise to provoke, 
where we cannot resist. But first, let us be well assured of the hope- 
lessness of our State before we sink into submission. On what do our 
opponents rest their despondent and slavish belief ? On the recent 
events in Europe ? I admit they are great, and well calculated to 
impose on the imagination. Our enemy never presented a more 
imposing exterior. His fortune is at the flood. But I am admonished 
by universal experience that such prosperity is the most precarious of 
human conditions. From the flood, the tide dates its ebb. From the 
meridian, the sun commences his decline. Depend upon it, there is 
more of sound philosophy than of fiction in the fickleness which poets 
attribute to fortune. Prosjjerity has its weakness, adversity its strength. 
In many respects our enemy has lost by those very changes which 
seem so very much in his favor. He can no more claim to be strug- 
gling for existence ; no more to be fighting the battles of the world in 
defence of the liberties of mankind. The magic cry of "French influ- 
ence," is lost. In this very hall we are not strangers to that sound. 
Here, even here, the cry of "French influence," that baseless fiction, 
that phantom of faction, now banished, often resounded. I rejoice 
that the spell is broken by which it was attempted to bind the spirit of 
this youthful nation. The minority can no longer act under cover, but 
must come out and defend their opposition on its own intrinsic merits. 
Our example can scarcely fail to produce its eff"ects on other nations 
interested in the maintenance of maritime rights. But if, u.nfortu- 
nately, we should be left alone to maintain the contest, and if, which 
may God forbid, necessity should compel us to yield for the present, 
yet our generous eff"orts will not have been lost. A mode of thinking 
and a tone of sentiment have gone abroad which must stimulate to 
future and more successful struggles. What could not be effected with 
eight millions of people, will be done with twenty. The great cause 
will never be yielded — no, never, never. Sir, I hear the future audi- 
bly announced in the past, in the splendid victories over the Guerriere, 
Java, and Macedonian. We and all nations, by these victories, are 
taught a lesson never to be forgotten. Opinion is power. The charm 
of British naval invincibility is gone." 

This war was called the Carolina war. More eminent statesmen from 
South Carolina than from any other State of the Union, enforced and 
sustained it by their counsels ; and it was closed victoriously at New 
Orleans, by the military prowess of a South Carolinian. But were it 
not that Lowndes and Cheves and Williams were his colleagues, it might 



rhett's oration. 339 

well be called a Calhoun war. It was a type of all the political con- 
tests iu wliicli he was afterwards engaged — ever struggling for right 
and liberty, against oppression and power. 

This war placed Mr. Calhoun amongst the foremost spirits of his 
time. On the elevation of Mr. Monroe to the Presidency, he was 
called into his cabinet, as Secretary of "War. This department was 
involved in the utmost confusion. But soon order and responsibility 
arose throughout all its arrangements and details. His genius yet pi'e- 
sides over this department in its admirable organization, which no one 
who has succeeded him has attempted to alter or improve. His great 
abilities were stamped on all the documents he pi'odueed at the call of 
Congress, or of the Executive ; and at the close of Mr. Monroe's 
administration, he stood prominently forward for the Presidency. Penn- 
sylvania nominated him for this distinguished office; and had South 
Carolina supported the nomination, the probability is he would, at that 
early day, have reached the Presidential chair. But she in preference 
nominated William Lowdues another of her distinguished sons. 

William Lowndes was one of the greatest, yet one of the blandest 
and most amiable of men. No one could approach him without emo- 
tions of affection and admiration. In conferring with him, you felt as 
if communing with a bright and serene spirit, fresh from the crystal 
fountains of truth, without a spot on its snowy vestments. You were 
not so much dazzled by the splendor, as attracted by the mild light of 
his clear and beautiful intelligence, like the light of bright but distant 
stars. He did not, perhaps he could not, crush, by the overwhelming- 
weight of his logic, the mind of his hearer — but softly subduing it to 
his purposes, he won it away from itself, and made it willing to be won. 
His native delicacy taught him that most difficult of all achievements 
to a very superior mind, not to offend by his superiority. You came to 
him with ease and confidence, you left him full of thought and glad- 
ness. Instead of humbling in his intercourse, he lifted up the feebler 
minds of others, and made them willing to bow to the gentle majesty 
of so much goodness and so much power. Mr. Lowndes had no ene- 
mies. To wound the feelings of another, even to protect his own, was 
beyond the gentleness of his noble nature. He had, of course, friends, 
warm friends, whose admiration of him as a man and as a statesman, 
was equalled only by their love. Between such a man and Mr. Cal- 
houn, there was an instinctive assimilation. They appreciated and 
loved each other. When, therefore, they were both nominated for the 
Presidency, and thus placed iu the attitude of rivals, Mr. Calhoun 
hastened to Mr. Lowndes. He assured him that he had had no agency 



340 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

in his own nomination by Pennsylvania ; and expressed the hope, that 
the acts of their friends would not at all affect the personal relations of 
friendship and esteem between themselves. Mr. Lowndes warmly 
reciprocated the desire of Mr. Calhoun, and to his death the feelings 
of confidence and friendship between these two great men remained 
unimpaired — a striking instance of the nobleness of their generous 
natures. 

Mr. Lowndes died before the Presidential canvass came to a close ; 
and General Jackson, in the meantime, being taken up by Pennsyl- 
vania, as a candidate for the Presidency, Mr. Calhoun was supported 
on all the Presidential tickets, for the Vice-Presidency. He was 
elected, of course, to this distinguished office; but Gen. Jackson, 
although highest by the vote of the electoral colleges, did not obtain 
the constitutional majority required for electing him to the Presidency. 
The election was thrown into the House of Ptepresentatives, and by a 
combination between Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay, Mr. Adams was made 
President of the United States. 

This administration was not long in developing its Federal tendencies, 
and Mr. Calhoun joined the opposition for its overthrow. 

The weak, as well as the vital point of liberty in all free govern- 
ments, is in the laying and expending of the taxes ; and to this point, 
consolidation most naturally drifts in consummating its policy. If the 
government could but be made omnipotent in regard to taxation and 
expenditure, its omnipotence in all other matters would soon follow. 
'Our Anglo-Saxon ancestors, by the habeas corpus Act, and the trial by 
jury, had long since thrown indestructible barriers around the liberty 
of the person, against the encroachments of tyranny; but liberty, as to 
^ property, in the imposition of taxes, is still a matter of strife and con- 
tention. It was fought for in the Revolution in England in the middle 
of the seventeenth century. It was fought for by our ancestors, in our 
own Revolution of 1776. We won it in that fierce contest, but lost it 
" almost as soon as it was won, by the operations of the General Govern- 
ment. The concession made by the Constitution to the General Gov- 
ernment, of the power of laying duties on imports, was fatal to all 
equality and justice in taxation. For, even though the duties should 
be laid with a single eye to revenue, they would be levied upon the 
commerce created by the exports, and must be unequal in their opera- 
ffl tion upon those to whom the exports belong. But when, in the work- 
ing of this method of raising revenue for the support of the General 
Government, millions of people and all sections of the Union become 
interested to obtain advantages by its perversion or excess, it is vain to 



rhett's oration. 341 

look for justice or equality. The taxes, so far from being burdens, as 
all taxes should be, are, on the contrary, sources of gain and prosperity. 
The higher the taxes levied on foreign commodities, the greater are 
their gains, either from the higher prices which they obtain for articles 
they manufacture similar to those taxed on importation, or from the 
total exclusion of the foreign commodity. Under such a policy, injus- 
tice and oppression reign in the exercise of the taxing power; and the 
Government becomes only an instrument for wresting property from one 
citizen to bestow it on another. Under such a policy, corruption like- 
wise reigns in the exprMclinr/ power — for the more the public treasury 
can be exhausted and wasted, the higher must be the taxes to fill its 
coifers. Hence arises a tyranny as remorseless as it is sateless. It was 
this policy, under the name of the American system, which Mr. Adams' 
administration, sought to consummate in the tariff bill of 1828. For- 
tunately for liberty, tyranny seldom has bounds in its aggressions. It 
will not be satisfied with light oppressions ; but goes on to crush its 
victims, or drive them to resistance. The tariffs of 1818, of ^22, of 
'24 and '28 — showed the successive steps of its ixnalterable progress. 
It was impossible for such a mind as Mr. Calhoun's, after the oppor- 
tunity his election to the Vice-Presidency, from the leisure it afforded, 
presented for mature consideration, not to comprehend the whole opera- 
tion of this policy, and to hate and resist it. "When it was supposed 
that the votes would be equal in the Senate, on this Bill, and thus 
that, as Vice-President, his vote would be wanted to determine its 
fate, he declared his determination to vote against it, and to for- 
feit his position as Vice-President, on the electoral ticket of the 
Democratic party— ^then certain of success — rather than support this 
" Bill of abominations." But the Bill passed without his vote. It 
was received in South Carolina with the most decided marks of popular 
indignation. Resistance was openly proclaimed against it at many 
meetings held by the people, in different parts of the State. In Colle- 
ton District, where the first movements were made, the Governor of the 
State was requested immediately to convene the Legislature together, in 
order that the State should determine on the mode and measure of 
redress. In this emergency, the eyes of many were turned towards Mr. 
Calhoun for counsel and direction ; and two of the most distinguished 
statesmen from the lower country visited him during the summer at his 
residence, Fort Hill. Mr. Calhoun was in fiivor sf resistance, but of 
resistance within the pale of the Constitution, by the peaceable remedy 
of nullification, whose aim was to check effectually these enci'oachments 
upon our rights, but at the same time to preserve the Union. At the 



; 



342 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

succeeding sitting of the Legislature, those in favor of calling a Con- 
vention of the people by the Legislature, were defeated ; but an able 
exposition, the work of Mr. Calhoun, was put forth by the State, de- 
monstrating the grievances of the tariff, and defending the right of 
State-interposition, for their redress. A protest was also adopted by 
the Legislature, and sent on to Washington, to be recorded on the jour- 
nals of Congress. It was prepared by one of Carolina's most gifted 
sons. 

Hugh S. Legare was a man of too much heart for politics. His 
French temperament, quick to resent, yet easy to forgive ; warm, guile- 
less, and confiding, rendered him too unhappy and too disappointed, 
when tossed on the boisterous and adverse waves of public life. He 
had none of that cold patience, or buoyant hope, which often makes 
disaster the occasion of after rejoicing ; or defeat the means of awaken- 
ing new and higher energies. Yet he had a genius capable of master- 
ing every science — an industry which travelled with untiring steps over 
the whole domain of literature ; and a spirit of blazing intensity, which 
drew to itself and consumed all that was great or truthful or beautiful 
in the thoughts of other men. How often did his oratory resound in 
this hall ; filling us with admiration at its pure and deep cadences ! 
Vigorous thought, clothed in the drapery of the warmest and most ner- 
vous language, and borne on the wings of a lofty and impetuous spirit, 
characterized his striking powers in debate. Alas ! the eagle fell as he 
reached the mountain top ! He died on the very summit, where his 
glorious scholarship, mighty attainments, and brilliant genius, would 
have made him a name amongst the great statesmen of the world. 
Although he deemed himself slighted and wronged by his native State, 
he turned to her^ to the last, with a full and yearning heart. 

" Heu ! quanto minus est cum reliquis versare, 
Quam tui meminisse." 

The protest of South Carolina against the Tariff Act of 1828, was 
recorded on the Journals of Congress ; and the Presidential election 
coming on, Gen. Jackson was elected to the Presidency. His native 
State had been the first to nominate him for this distinguished office, 
after his defeat in the House of Representatives. The strong hope en- 
tertained of redress through his administration, was a leading cause of 
the defeat of those in the Legislature of South Carolina, who advocated 
the call of a Convention. But his first message to Congress dispelled 
all such hopes. Instead of recommending a reduction of the tariff to 



rhett's oration. 343 

the wants of the Treasury, in view of the payment of the public debt, 
he proposed that the tariff should be kept up, and that the surplus in 
the Treasury, which must accumlate, should be distributed among the 
States. If this policy, the policy of the manufacturers, should prevail, 
it was plain that the tariff would remain, with all its oppressions, un- 
changed forever — whilst the independence of the States would be swal- 
lowed up in the vortex of consolidation. At the next session of Con- 
gress, Gen. Jackson, as if to chide the tardy movements of our oppres- 
sors, repeated his recommendation of this policy for the adoption of Con- 
gress. Thus presenting to the people of South Carolina, either a per- 
manent system of distributing the surplus revenue, and a perpetual pro- 
tective tariff, or resistance. South Carolina determined to meet this 
alternative and to resist. Although equally assailed by the two 
great parties of the country, and abandoned by her sister States in the 
South, under the guidance of her great statesman she moved on to the 
vindication of her rights and liberties. To prepare her for the contest, 
and at the same time to defend the principles on which he desired she 
would ground her resistance, Mr. Calhoun put forth an address, char- 
acterized by his usual great ability. The scheme of the Constitution, by 
which the people of a country so various in its productions, and so dif- 
ferent in climate and institutions, may live under one Government, con- 
sistently with liberty, he exposes as follows : 

" So momentous and diversified are the interests of our country, that 
they could not be fairly represented in a single government organized 
so as to give each great and leading interest a separate and distinct 
voice, as in governments to which I have referred. A plan was adopted 
better suited to our situation, but perfectly novel in its character. The 
powers of government were divided ; not as heretofore, in reference to 
classes, but geographically. One general Government was formed for 
the whole, to which was delegated all the powers supposed to be neces- 
sary to regulate the interests common to all the States, leaving others 
subject to the separate control of the States, being, from their local and 
peculiar character, such that they could not be subject to the will of a 
majority of the whole Union, without the certain hazard of injustice and 
oppression. It was thus that the interests of the whole were subjected, 
as they ought to be, to the will of the whole ; while the peculiar, local 
interests were left under the control of the States separately, to whose 
custody only they could be safely confided. This distribution of power, 
settled solemnly by a constitutional compact, to which all the States are 
parties, constitutes the peculiar character and excellence of our political 
system. It is truly and emphatically American, without example or 
•paraUel. 



344 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTK TO CALHOUN. 

"To realize its perfection, we must view tte General Grovernment 
and those of the States as a whole, each in its proper sphere indepen- 
dent ; each perfectly adapted to its respective objects ; the States acting 
separately, representing and protecting the local and peculiar interests ; 
acting- jointly, through one General Government, with the weight res- 
pectively assigned to each by the Constitution, representing and pro- 
tecting the interest of the whole, and thus perfecting, by an admirable 
but simple arrangement, the great principle of representation and re- 
sponsibility, without which no government can be free or just. To pre- 
serve this sacred distribution, as originally settled, by coercing each to 
move in its prescribed orb, is the great and difficult problem, on the 
solution of which the duration of our Constitution, of our Union, and 
in all probability, our liberty, depends. How is this to be elFected ?" 

Mr. Calhoux answered this question by pointing to the States — at 
once the creators and guardians of the Constitution — to arrest, by their 
interposition, the encroachments of the federal head, and thus preserve 
the distribution of powers under the Constitution. 

"The great and leading principle is, that the General Government 
emanated from the people of the several States, forming distinct politi- 
cal communities, and acting in their separate and sovereign capacities, 
and not from all the people forming one aggregate political community; 
that the Constitution of the United States is, in fact, a compact, to 
which each State is a party, in the character already described ; and 
that the several States, or parties, have a right to judge of its infrac- 
tions, and in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of 
power, not delegated, they have the right, in the last resort, to use the 
language of the Virginia resolutions, ' to interpose for arresting the 
progress of the evil, and for maintaining, within their respective limits, 
the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining to them.' This right 
of interposition, thus solemnly asserted by the State of Virginia, be it 
called what it may — state-right, veto, nullification, or by any other 
name — I conceive to be the fundamental principle of our system, rest- 
ing on facts historically as certain as our Revolution itself, and deduc- 
tions as simple and demonstrative as those of any political or moral 
truth whatever ; and I firmly believe that on its recognition depends 
the stability and safety of our political institutions." 

Such is the doctrine of nullification. It was doubtless first perceived 
and broached by Mr. Jefi'ersou, and supported by 3Ir. Madison, as a 
part of our system of government, in his celebrated Report on the Alien 
and Sedition Laws, in the Virginia Legislature. But nullification, as a 
great principle of all government — nullification in its admirable philos- 



rhett's oration. 345 

ophy — is the discovery of Mr. Calhoun. The difference between liis 
expositions and those of Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison on ttis subject, 
is the difference between o-old in the rock and sold extracted and refined 
and prepared for universal use in the commerce of the world. Whether 
nullification is a part of the system of Grovernment organized by the 
Constitution of tbe United States, may be doubtful. The Virginia 
statesmen generally, and many of our statesmen, whose abilities and 
patriotism no one ever doubted, limited the right of a State to secession. 
The principle, however, as developed by Mr. Calhoun, must endure 
forever, as the only foundation on which free governments can be 
erected. Grovernment is a great practical necessity, resulting from the 
condition of our fallen nature. If this nature were perfect, no man 
would do injustice to another, and there would be no need of govern- 
ment; but because our nature is imperfect, and man will not do justice 
to his fellow-man, governments are instituted to enforce justice by the 
power of all. But the power of all in government, on account of tbe 
frailty or tbe wickedness of men, tends again to injustice, because those 
who control it, or are entrusted with its administration, pervert its pow- 
ers for their own selfisb aggrandizement. Hence the difficulty of main- 
taining a free and just Grovernment. We are obliged to use the very 
instruments to guide its operations whose frailty and corruption occa- 
sioned its primal necessity. There is but one expedient to guard against 
tbis frailty and corruption; and that is, by so organizing and distribu- 
ting the powers of government amongst its various agents, as to make 
one a cbeck on the abuse of another, and enable all interests and sec- 
tions to protect themselves by only yielding such powers as are common 
and equal in their exercise. In this consists the whole science of con- 
federated republican governments. Unlimited power in government, 
either in one man or in many, is despotism. Divided power, checking 
wrong, and enforcing justice, is liberty. In developing and enforcing 
tbis great principle, which, like attraction amongst the heavenly bodies, 
is the great law of all free governments, Mr. Calhoun stands unrivalled 
among the statesmen of ancient or modern days. On his labors and 
accomplishments on this great subject, I know that he chiefly rested his 
title to future fame. When, during Gi-eneral Jackson's administration, 
he acted with the Whigs, in the Senate of the United States, and was 
claimed as one of them, he declared that he belonged to neither of the 
great parties in the Union, but was a Nullifier. Long after the names 
of Whig and Democrat should be buried in oblivion, he hoped to live as 
a nullifier — the great nullifier — whose principles would guide and bless 
the world with liberty. He lived to see — from a disregard of these 



346 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

principles — that beautiful fabric of free government, organized by the 
Constitution of the United States, rent to its foundation, and tottering 
to its fall. But even in its fall shall shine forth more clearly the great 
truths he inculcated ; and future generations, seeking liberty, will avoid 
the whirlpool of consolidation into which we have recklessly plunged, in 
spite of all his warnings, to rise probably again only in divided frag- 
ments. 

The crisis approached in 1832, in consequence of the payment of the 
public debt, and Mr. Calhoun addressed another powerful disquisition 
on the powers of G-overnment, in a letter, to Governor Hamilton. As 
the true relations which the States in this Union bear towards the 
General Government may soon be a matter of practical and vital impor- 
tance, a few extracts, elucidating this subject, may not be inappropriate. 
The right of secession rests upon this relation. 

"By a State may be meant either the government of a State, or the 
people, as forming a separate and independent community ; and by the 
people, either the American' people, taken collectively, as forming one 
great community, or as the people of the several States, forming, as 
above stated, separate and independent communities. These distinc- 
tions are essential in the enquiry. If by the people be meant the peo- 
ple collectively, and not the people of the several States, taken sepa- 
rately ; and if it be true, indeed, that the Constitution is the work of 
the American people, collectively ; if it originated with them, and de- 
rives its authority from their will, then there is an end of the argument. 
The right claimed for a State, of defending her reserved powers against 
the General Government, would be an absurdity. Viewing the Ameri- 
can people collectively as the source of political power, the rights of the 
States would be mere concessions — concessions from the common ma- 
jority, and to be revoked by them with the same facility that they were 
granted. The States would, on this supposition, bear to the Union the 
same relation that counties do to the States ; and it would, in that case, 
be just as preposterous to discuss the right of interposition, on the part 
of a State, against the General Government, as that of the counties 
against the States themselves. That a large portion of the people of 
the United States thus regard the relation between the State and the 
General Government, including many who call themselves the friends 
of State Rights and opponents of consolidation, can scarcely be doubted; 
as it is only on that supposition it can be explained that so many of that 
description should denounce the doctrine for which the State contends, 
as so absurd. But fortunately, the supposition is entirely destitute of 
truth. So far from the Conititution being the work of the American 



rhett's oration. 347 

people collectively, no sucli political body eitlier now or ever did exist. 
In that character the people of this country never performed a single 
political act, nor indeed can, without an entire revolution in all our po- 
litical relations. 

" I challenge an instance. From the beginning, and in all the 
changes of political existence through which we have passed, the people 
of the United States have been united as forming political communities, 
and not as individuals. Even in the first stage of existence, they 
formed distinct colonies, independent of each other, and politically 
united only through the British crown. In their first imperfect union, 
for the purpose of resisting the encroachments of the mother-country, 
they united as distinct political communities ; and passing from their 
colonial condition, in the act announcing their independence to the 
world, they declared themselves, by name and enumeration, free and 
independent States. In that character, they formed the old confedera- 
tion ; and when it was proposed to supersede the articles of the con- 
federation, by the present Constitution, they met in Convention as 
States, acted and voted as States ; and the Constitution, when formed, 
was submitted for ratification to the people of the several States ; it was 
ratified by them as States, each State for itself; each, by its ratification, 
binding its own citizens ; the parts thus separately binding themselves, 
and not the whole the parts ; to which, if it be added, that it is de- 
clared, in the preamble of the Constitution, to be ordained by the people 
of the United States, and in the article of ratification, when ratified, it 
is declared ' to he binding between the States so ratifying' — the con- 
clusion is inevitable that the Constitution is the work of the people of 
the States, considered as separate and independent political communi- 
ties ; that they are its authors — their power created it, their voice 
clothed it with authority — that the Government formed is really their 
agent ; and that the Union, of which the Constitution is the bond, is a 
union of States, and not of individuals. No one who regards his charac- 
ter for intelligence and truth, has ever ventured directly to deny these 
facts so certain ; but while they are too certain for denial, they are also 
too conclusive in favor of the rights of the States for admission." 

The crisis at length came. The passage of the tariif Act of 1832, 
proclaimed on all sides to bo a final adjustment, could not be satisfactory 
to South Carolina. It was too inconsiderable in the amount of its 
reductions, to arrest the policy of distribution ; whilst, by its exemption 
from taxation to the manufacturers, it was more of a protective tarifi' in 
principle, than the Act of 1828. The resistance party in South Carolina 
carried the elections in the fall. The Legislature, by the two-thirds 



348 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

majority, called a Convention of the people. The times were dark and 
lowering ; and South Carolina required at the helm of her affairs a man 
of undoubted sagacity, patriotism, and courage. She turned her eyes 
to G-en. Robert Y. Hayne, her Senator in Congress. 

Gen. Hayne was the idol of the people, and repaid their devotion by 
a fidelity as true as theirs. He loved South Carolina as the knight of 
old his bride. He loved popularity, not for the sake of its honors or 
emoluments, but because the heart of his humanity delighted to beat 
in unison with the warm pulsations of others. He rejoiced in the public 
service, as the boy who laughs and bounds and drives the ball before 
him. His manner were the perfection of frank and winning courtesy. 
But the spirit of the soldier radiated from every look and tone. In 
obeying the voice of the State, be brought to her service a determination 
to protect her from aggression or invasion, which no terrors could daunt. 
He stood, the proud delight and confidence of all. His inaugural 
address, on assuming the office of Governor, penetrated the souls of all 
who heard him, and drew tears of kindred sympathy from some of the 
sternest of us. He was an orator in the full meaning of oratory, the art 
of persuasion. Free and fast, the words floated on his silvery voice, 
whilst ingenuous and manly candour gave potency to the arguments of 
his fine intellect. In the meridian of his powers he left pviblic life ; 
and borne along by the prosperity and the ambitious imagination of the 
country, entered, with his usual intrepidity, into the great scheme of 
uniting, by iron bonds, the South and West in commercial intercourse. 
His name would be written on the Alleganies, and future generations 
would bless the wisdom and energy by which this great work was accom- 
plished. But convulsion and ruin swept over the commercial world. 
The project failed. His heart sunk beneath the calamity. Eager gain 
carped at his doings ; jealous misfortune turned upon him her cold 
reproachful eye. He died, the noblest victim of those disastrous times. 

Mr. Calhoun was elected unanimously to fill the seat in the Senate 
of the United States, made vacant by the resignation of General Hayne. 
The Convention of the State met, and passed an ordinance nullifying 
the Tariff Laws of the United States within the limits of South Carolina. 
Mr. Calhoun stood forth in the Senate, the leading champion of the 
State, placed by his policy in opposition to every State in the Union, 
and to all the authorities of the General Government, with President 
Jackson at its head. 

Gen. Jackson was a most .remarkable man. Born and reared and 
living, the greater part of his life, in a newly settled country, his charac- 
ter partook of the defects such an existence naturally engenders. His 



rhett's oration. 849 

education "was very limited. He learned nothing from hooks, of the 
great thoughts of the great men other ages have produced ; but human 
nature, as he met it in the pathway of life, he thoroughly studied and 
understood. The feehle enforcement of the laws on our frontiers, neces- 
sarily made a man of his bold and reckless temper not very regardful 
of law. His will was his law, and with his own right arm he enforced 
it. Thus, from the circumstances of his life, as well as natural disposi- 
tion, arose that aptitude and skill in contention which made him the 
most formidable of personal foes ; but they also made him the most 
faithful of friends. He identified himself with those to whom he was 
attached, with a blind devotion which only very generous natures can 
feel, but which meaner spirits are so apt to take advantage of, and abuse. 
To conquer and rule men, if not his leading passion, was certainly his 
greatest attribute. With a powerful, although rude intellect, to support 
his fierce and iron will, he could not be otherwise than great — great 
amongst men — great in the field — great as a civil ruler. No man was 
ever more feared, no man was ever more implicitly obeyed, wherever he 
moved ; confidence in him, and distrust in others, irresistibly spread 
over the minds of those who came within the charm of his fearful in- 
fluence. Yet, in his turn, he was easily influenced by those who bowed 
before his sway, and had won his confidence. Placability was not 
possible in such a nature. He hated intensely, and forgave only those 
enemies whom he humbled, or who humbled themselves before his 
imperious domination. 

Such was the man, at least at this period of his life, armed with all 
the authority of the Government, whom Mr. Calhoun faced in this 
great controversy. With General Jackson, it was, perhaps, not only a 
political, but a personal contest. For in the correspondence which had 
taken place between Mr. Calhoun and himself, relative to his Florida 
campaign, Mr. Calhoun had fairly towered over him. And to his 
death, Mr. Calhoun believed that this correspondence originated in 
the wily counsels of ]Mr. Van Buren ; who sought, by instigating a 
quarrel between General Jackson and himself, to supersede him, through 
the influence of General Jackson, in the commanding position he then 
occupied in the Democratic party. Most assuredly, Mr. Calhoun was 
the only man who stood in Mr. Van Buren's way for the Presidency. 
But this diff"erence with General Jackson would not have destroyed his 
lofty position in the Democratic party, as second to General Jackson 
alone, had he not taken sides with his oppressed and sufi'ering State, 
and trod with her the rugged paths of nullification. How far General 
Jackson's feelings of personal hostility carried him in this controversy, 



350 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

it is impossible to affirm ; but no one could have pursued a course more 
reckless and unconstitutional, according to those views of the Constitu- 
tion which he had ever maintained. At a previous session of Congress, 
he was so satisfied with the positions assumed by General Hayne, in his 
speech on Foote's resolutions, in his contest with Mr. Webster, that he 
had it printed on satin, framed and hung up, as a memorial of his ap- 
probation. This speech distinctly affirmed the doctrine of nullification, 
and of secession. Yet when South Carolina acted on its principles, and 
Mr. Calhoun represented them in the Senate of the United States, 
(leneral Jackson abandoned them all ; and his proclamation laid down 
the broadest doctrines of consolidation, in order to support the uncon- 
stitutional measures he required of Congress, to coerce South Carolina 
into submission. He virtually denied the right of secession, as well as 
that of nullification ; and surpassed Mr. Webster himself in his fede- 
ralism. The pen of Mr. Livingston was used in writing the proclam- 
mation; but Mr. Livingston, like G-eneral Jackson, had ever belonged 
to the Republican party, and had, moreover, delivered a speech ou 
Foote's resolutions, maintaining the rights and sovereignty of the States, 
and repudiating the very doctrines he afterwards put forth in the pro- 
clamation. The tergiversation of Grcneral Jackson and Mr. Livingston, 
supported by the whole Eepublican party in Washington, in the passage 
of the Force Bill, shows how vain it is to rely on any principles, or any 
party, to arrest the policy of the predominating majority in the Union. 
As the Constitution was then disregarded, to enforce the policy and 
wishes of a mere majority ; and the sword substituted for the guaranties 
it gave, so most probably it will be, in all future aggressions. Avarice 
will not give up its prey to right. Power will not put up its sword at 
the bidding of reason. Force will be the only bond of the Union — the 
sole arbiter of the limitations of the Constitution. 

In his great speech on the Force bill, Mr. Calhoun manifested the 
high and dauntless spirit which animated him. He met General Jack- 
son's personal hostility, he met his doctrines and his policy, with a 
commanding maintenance of the right, and a lofty defiance of power, 
that must be admired as long as the remembrance of those times shall 
endure. He did not remain on the defensive, but in repelling General 
Jackson's imputations on his motives and patriotism in his proclamation, 
turned the weapons of his assailant against himself. 

" The canvass, he said, in favor of Gen. Jackson's election to the 
Presidency, was carried on with great zeal, in conjunction with that 
active inquiry into the reserved rights of the States, on which final 
reliance was placed. But little did the people of Carolina dream, that 



rhett's oration. o51 

the man whom they were thus striving to elevate to the highest seat of 
power, woukl prove so utterly false to all their hopes. Man is indeed 
ignorant of the future ; nor was there ever a stronger illusti-ation of the 
observation, than is afforded by the result of that election. The very 
event on which they had built their hopes, has been turned against 
them ; and the very individual to whom they looked as a deliverer, and 
whom, under that impression, they strove for so many years to elevate 
to power, is now the most powerful instrument in the hands of his and 
their bitterest opponents, to put down them and their cause. 

" Scarcely had he been elected, when it became apparent, from the 
organization of his Cabinet, and other indications, that all their hopes of 
relief through him were blasted. The admission of a single individual 
into the Cabinet, under the circumstances which accompanied that 
admission, threw all into confusion. The mischievous influence over 
the President, through which this individual was admitted into the 
Cabinet, soon became apparent. Instead of turning his eyes forward to 
the period of the payment of the public debt, which was then near at 
hand, and to the present dangerous political crisis, which was inevitable, 
unless averted by a timely and wise system of measures, the attention 
of the President was absorbed by mere party arrangements and circum- 
stances too disreputable to be mentioned here, except by the most 
distant allusion. 

" Here I must pause for a moment, to repel a charge which has been 
so often made, and which even the President has reiterated in his 
proclamation — the charge that I have been actuated, in the part which 
I have taken, by feelings of disappointed ambition. I again repeat 
that I deeply regret the necessity of noticing myself in so important a 
discussion, and that nothing can induce me to advert to my ojvn course, 
but the conviction that it is due to the cause, at which a blow is aimed 
through me. It is only in this view that I notice it. 

" It illy became the Chief Magistrate to make this charge. The 
course which the State took, and which led to the present controversy 
between her and the General Government, was taken as far back as 
1828 — in the very midst of that severe canvass which placed him in 
power — and in that very canvass, Carolina openly avowed and zealously 
maintained those very principles which he, the Chief Magistrate, now 
officially pronounces to be treason and rebellion. That was the period 
at which he ought to have spoken. Having remained silent then, and 
having, under his approval, implied by that silence, received the sup- 
port and the vote of the State, I, if a sense of decorum did not prevent 
it, might recriminate, with the double charge of deception and ingrati- 



ob2 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN, 

tudc. My object, however, is not to assail the President, but to defend 
myself against a most unfounded charge. The time alone at which the 
course upon which this charge of disappointed ambition is founded, will, 
of itself, repel it, in the eye of every unprejudiced and honest man. 
The doctrine which I now sustain, xinder the present diificulties, I 
openly avowed and maintained, immediately after the Act of 1828 — 
that " bill of abominations," as it has been so often and properly termed. 
Was I at that period disappointed in any views of ambition which I 
might be supposed to entertain ? I was Vice President of the United 
States, elected by an overwhelming majority. I was a candidate for 
re-election on the ticket with General Jackson himself, with a certain 
prospect of a triumphant success of that ticket, and with a fair prospect 
of the highest office to which an American citizen can aspire. What 
was my course under these prospects ? Did I look to my own advance- 
ment, or to an honest and faithful discharge of my duty ? Let facts 
speak for themselves. The road of ambition lay before me — I had but 
to follow the corrupt tendency of the times — but I chose to tread the 
rugged path of duty." 

His denunciations of the Force Bill are in a mingled strain of reason- 
ing, invective, and defiance, worthy a great advocate of liberty. It is 
justly amenable to all his denunciations ; for as an aggression on the 
rio-hts and sovereignty of the States, it stands unparalleled. It was a 
sufficient cause for a speedy and violent revolution. It was, in fact, a 
revolution itself; for it reversed the whole order of the system of the 
Federal Government. Instead of the States being the masters a'nd 
partners of the system, it made the General Government the master 
and proprietor of the States. They are its dependents, to be controlled 
by force, under the dictation of a majority in Congress, and a tyrannical 
President. There is not a word in the Constitution which justifies the 
assumption that the States ever intended to concede to the General 
Government the power to coerce them, by military force, under any 
circumstances. Even if a State made war on a sister State, there is no 
authority for the General Government to interfere. The power given 
to Congress " to repel invasions, and suppress insurrections," and to the 
President, "to see that the laws are faithfully executed," were not con- 
ceded by the States to enable the General Government to coerce fhem, 
but to aid them in preserving peace within their borders. But tyranny 
never wants pretexts for oppression ; whilst its precedents never die, 
but with its power. In view of things around us, it is well to listen to 
the stern language of Mr. Calhoun against this last claim of power on 
the part of the General Government, to seal consolidation by blood : 



rhett's oration. 353 

'^ This bill proceeds on the ground that the entire sovereignty of this 
country belongs to the American people, as forming one great com- 
munity, and regards the States as mere fractions or counties, and not 
as an integral part of the Union, having no more right to resist the 
encroachments of the Government than a county has to resist the autho- 
rity of a State ; and treating such resistance as the lawless acts of so 
many individuals, without possessing sovereignty, or political rights. 
It has been said that the bill declares war against South Carolina. No ! 
It decrees the massacre of her citizens ! War has something; ennoblins: 
about it, and, with all its horrors, brings into action the highest quali- 
ties, intellectual and moral. It was perhaps in the order of Providence 
that it should be permitted for that very purpose. But this bill de- 
clares no war, except indeed it be that which savages wage — a war, not 
against the community, but the citizens of whom that community is 
composed. But I regard it as worse than savage warfare — as an 
attempt to take away life under the color of law, without trial by jury, 
or any other safeguard which the Constitution has thrown around the 
life of the citizen ! It authorizes the President, or even his deputies, 
when they may suppose the law to be violated, without the intervention 
of a court or jury, to kill without mercy or discrimination ! It has 
been said, by the Senator from Tennessee, (Mr. Grundy) to be a measure 
of peace ! Yes, such peace as the wolf gives to the lamb — the kite to 
the dove! Such peace as Russia gives to Poland, or death to its 
victim ! A peace, by extinguishing the political existence of the State, 
by awing her into an abandonment of the exercise of every power which 
constitutes her a sovereign community. It is to South Carolina a ques- 
tion of self-preservation ; and I pronounce it, that should this bill pass, 
and an attempt be made to enforce it, it will be resisted at every hazard 
— even that of death itself. Death is not the greatest calamity : there 
are others still more terrible to the free and brave, and among them may 
be placed the loss of liberty and honor. There are thousands of her 
brave sons, who, if need be, are prepared cheerfully to lay down their 
lives in defence of the State, and the great principles of constitutional 
liberty, for which she is contending. God forbid that this should 
become necessary ! It never can be, unless this Government is resolved 
to bring the question to extremity, when her gallant sons will stand 
prepared to perform the last duty — to die nobly. 

" It is said the bill ought to pass, because the law must be enforced. 
The imperial edict must be executed. It is under such sophistry, 
couched in general terms, without looking to the limitations which must 
ever exist in the practical exercise of power, that the most cruel and 



354 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

despotic acts ever have been covered. It was such sophistry as this 
that cast Dauiel into the lion's den, and the three Innocents into the 
fiery furnace. Under the same sophistry the bloody edicts of Nero and 
Calio'ula were executed. The law must be enforced. Yes, the Act 
imposing the ' tea tax ' must be executed. This was the very argument 
which impelled Lord North and his administration in that mad career 
which forever separated us from the British crown. Under a similar 
sophistry, ' that religion must be protected,' how many martyrs have 
been tied to the stake ! What ! acting on this vague abstraction, are 
you prepared to enforce a law, without considering whether it be just or 
unjust, constitutional or unconstitutional ? Will you collect money 
when it is acknowledged that it is not wanted ? He who earns the 
money, who digs it from the earth with the sweat of his brow, has a 
just title to it, against the universe. No one has a right to touch it 
without his consent, except his Grovernment, and it only to the extent 
of its legitimate wants ; to take more is robbery, and you propose, by 
this bill, to enforce robbery, by murder. Yes : to this result you must 
come, by this miserable sophistry, this vague abstraction, of enforcing 
the law, without a regard to the fact whether the law be just or unjust, 
constitutional or unconstitutional. 

" In the same spirit we are told that the Union must be preserved, 
without regard to the means. And how is it proposed to preserve the 
Union ? By force ! Does any man in his senses believe that this 
beautiful structure — this harmonious aggregate of States, produced by 
the joint consent of all — can be preserved by force ? Its very intro- 
duction will be the certain destruction of this Federal Union. No ! 
no ! You cannot keep the States united in their constitutional and 
federal bonds by force. Force may indeed hold the parts together, but 
such union wovild be the bond between master and slave — a union of 
exaction on one side, and of unqualified obedience on the other. That 
obedience which, we are told by the Senator from Pennsylvania, is the 
Union ! Yes, exaction on the side of the master ; for this very bill is 
intended to collect what can no longer be called taxes — the voluntary 
contribution of a free people — but tribute — tribute, to be collected 
under the mouths of the cannon ! Your Custom House is already 
transformed to a garrison, and that garrison with its batteries turned, 
not against the enemy of your country — but on subjects (I will not say 
citizens) on whom you propose to levy contributions. Has reason fled 
from our borders ? Have we ceased to reflect ? It is madness to sup- 
pose that the Union can be preserved by force. I tell you plainly, that 
the bill, should it pass, cannot be enforced. It will prove only a blot 



rhett's oration. 355 

upon your statute-book — a reproach to the year, and a disgrace to the 
American Senate. I repeat that it will not be executed ; it will rouse 
the dormant spirit of the people, and open their eyes to the approach of 
despotism. The country has sunk into avarice and politiflial corruption, 
from which nothing can arovxse it, but some measure on the part of 
Government, of folly and madness, such as that now under considera- 
tion." 

The concluding paragraph of this speech developes so truly the 
nature of the contest, and its results, that I cannot forbear transcrib- 
ing it. 

"We have now sufficient experience to ascertain that the tendency 
to conflict, in the action of the General Government, is between the 
southern and other sections. The latter, having a decided majority, 
must habitually be possessed of the powers of the Government, both 
in this and in the other House; and being governed by that instinctive 
love of power, so natural to the human breast, they must become the 
advocates of the power of Government, and in the same degree opposed 
to the limitations, while the weaker section is necessarily thrown on the 
other side of the limitations. One section is the natural guardian of 
the delegated powers, and the other of the reserved; and the struggle 
on the side of the former will be to enlarge the powers, while that 
on the opposite side will be to restrain them within their constitutional 
limits. The contest will, in fact, be a contest between power and 
liberty, and such I consider the present — a contest in which the weaker 
section, with its peculiar labor, productions and institutions, has at 
stake all that can be dear to preserve. Should we be able to maintain, 
in their full vigor, our reserved rights, liberty and prosperity will be our 
portion ; but if we yield, and permit the stronger interest to concen- 
trate within itself all the powers of the Government, then will our fate 
be more wretched than that of the aborigines whom we have expelled. 
In this great struggle between the delegated and reserved powers, so 
far from repining that my lot and those whom I represent is cast on 
the side of the latter, I rejoice that such is the fact; for though we 
participate in but few of the advantages of the Government, we are 
compensated, and more than compensated, in not being so much 
exposed to its corruptions. Nor do I repine that the duty so difficult to 
be discharged as the defence of the reserved powers against, apparently, 
such fearful odds, has been assigned to us. To discharge successfully this 
high duty, requires the highest qualities, moral and intellectual ; and 
should we perform it with a zeal and ability in proportion to its magni- 
tude, instead of being mere planters, our section will become distin- 



356 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

guislied for its patriots and statesmen. But, on tte other hand, if we 
prove unworthy of this high destiny — if we yield to the steady encroach- 
ments of powei', the severest calamity and most debasing corruption 
will overspr^d the land. Every Southern man, true to the interests 
of his section, and faithful to the duties which Providence has allotted 
to him, will be forever excluded from the honors and emoluments of 
this Grovernment, which will be reserved for those only who have quali- 
fied themselves by political prostitution." 

Mr. Calhoun was not left to take the whole field of debate to him- 
self. Mr. Webster, the greatest advocate for consolidation, since the 
day of Alexander Hamilton, undertook to reply to the principles laid 
down in certain resolutions he had ofi"ered in the Senate, afiirmative of 
the constitutional doctrines on which rested the right of State inter- 
position. I am not, I think, governed by any undue partiality, when 
I say that no unprejudiced mind can read his reply to Mr. Webster, 
without yielding the palm of victory to Mr. Calhoun. Take Mr. 
Mr. Webster's concessions, and he was overthrown by their inevitable 
deductions. Admit that the States were ever sovereign — and that the 
Constitution is a compact, — and the right of either State interposition 
or secession is inevitable. A more admirable specimen of logic in 
debate, was never embalmed in the English language. Mr. Calhoun 
seemed to feel that he had at least a foeman worthy of his steel ; and 
that the two great antagonistic principles of government, which had 
agitated the Union from its foundation, were now to grapple each other 
in a mortal death-struggle. He conquered. The triumph was ours ; 
but where are the fruits of victory? Where is that constitutional 
liberty which the blazing sword of his spirit won for us in this great 
controversy ? 

The Tariif difl&culty was terminated by the Tarifi" act of 1833 — 
commonly called the Compromise Act. This Act was introduced by 
Mr. Clay into the Senate of the United States ; and supported by him 
as a compromise, and a final adjustment of the Tarifi" question. Its 
whole merit consisted in its finality. It proposed to continue the pro- 
tective policy for nine years, in order that those engaged in manufac- 
tures should have due time to accommodate their interests to the change 
of policy, which it would ordain. For seven years the reductions of 
the duties were to be very inconsiderable, being only ten per cent, of 
the excesses over 20 per cent. ; but in the two last years, the remaining 
excess was to come down to 20 per cent, ad valorem : and here, at this 
level as a maximum, with a free list for the benefit of the manufacturers, 
the Tariff was to remain forever. 



rhett's oration. 357 

A compromise with wrong doers, is always of doubtful wisdom ; for 
those who have not principles to restrain them from the perpetration of 
injustice in the first instance, will seldom be withheld irom renewing it 
by any mere consideration of good faith. Such men are far more apt 
to practice hypocrisy for the purpose of disarming opposition, than to 
carry out, with fidelity, engagements which must overthrow their policy. 
Mr. Calhoun (as, at the time, the whole world, but the few in his 
secrets,) believed Mr. Clay, when he asserted, in the Senate, that the 
Act of '33 was a Jinal settlement of the Tarifi", and a final abandonment 
of the protective policy. It appears now, by his late confessions in the 
Senate, that he himself, in concert with the manufacturers, in proposing 
and passing this Act, meditated and practised a gigantic fraud upon 
the Senate and the country. Neither he nor they ever intended that 
the protective policy should be abandoned. They never intended that 
the Act should be in operation longer than the seven years, during 
which it gave ample protection to the manufacturers. They intended 
that before the last reductions should take place, by which the South 
was to be benefited, the Act was to be overthrown, and the protective 
policy renewed. When, however, by propositions in Congress, in con- 
sequence of the overflowing revenue which this Tariff produced, there 
was danger that the reductions of the first years should be hastened, 
Mr. Clay did not scruple to make appeals, on the floor of the Senate, 
to the Senators from South Carolina and the South, to maintain the 
solemn faith of this compromise. They did not maintain it; and Mr. 
Calhoun, in his speech on the Tariff of 1842, alluding to Mr. Clay's 
pledges on these occasions, says: "That the Act of 1842 would 
entirely supersede the Compromise Act, and violate pledges openly 
given her in this Chamber, by its distingtiished author, and the present 
Governor of Massachusetts, (Mr. Davis,) then a member of this body, 
that if ive of the South would adhere to the compromise, while it teas 
operating favorably to the manufacturing interest, they woidd stand by 
it lohen it came to operate favorably to us." 

But these public pledges did not alter the secret arrangements entered 
into with the manufacturers ; and true to his secret, but false to his 
public pledges, Mr. Clay afterwards importuned President Van Buren 
to overthrow the compromise, by recommending increased duties. 
Failing in this, in 1842, he offered resolutions in the Senate, just before 
he resigned his seat, entirely at variance with its provisions. Mr. 
Calhoun was ignorant of the premeditated treachery; but could not 
fail to see the open manifestation of it, in these resolutions, although 
they professed to respect the compromise. In his speech exposing 



358 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

them, he said, '^ That while they profess to regpect the Compromise 
Act, they violate it in ahnost every essential particular but one, the 
ad valorem principle ; and even that, I fear, it is intended to set aside 
by the juggle of home valuation." He was not aware that this Act, 
from its inception, was a game of juggling, and nothing else, on the 
part of the manufacturers, and their great leader ; and that their faith, 
like their policy, was only that of robbers. Of course, in 1842, so 
soon as they had the power, they carried out their secret purposes, and 
consummated their fraud by the entire overthrow of the Tariff Act of 
1833. The Tariff of '42 was modified by the Tariff of '46, although 
identical in principle; but from the indications at our last session of 
Congress, the protective policy is again to be renewed in all its oppres- 
sive features, as the irrevocable policy of the master section of the 
Union. 

I come now, gentlemen, to that last great subject on which Mr. Cal- 
houn rendered his last services to us and to the Union — the subject of 
slavery. His prophetic warnings and earnest endeavors to awake the 
public mind of the country, to the dangers which environed this ques- 
tion, must afford matter for profound contemplation, and the deepest 
admiration, to the future historian who shall record our times. He 
probably will narrate, that when Mr. Calhoun died the Union lost its 
last and best counsellor and friend; and that when his great conserva- 
tive spirit no longer stood in the councils of the country, to arrest the 
rising tide of consolidation, it rose unchecked, and bursting over the 
barriers of the Constitution, buried the Union beneath its foul and 
turbid waters. 

The subject of slavery is difficult of comprehension to those only who 
study it in the light of abstx-act principles ; and unfortunately these 
comprise the greater part of its enquirers. It is very largely a question 
of facts, which must necessarily qualify and alter all abstract reasoning 
concerning it. The very leaves of the forest, and the sands on the sea 
shore, vary in size and form. The whole animal creation, from the in- 
sect which crawls, to man, the lord of all, teems with variety. Nothing 
is equal — nothing is alike ; whilst the broad marks of distinction and 
inequality are stamped on every species of every kind of animal or hu- 
man existence. Yet the abolitionists, on the subject of slavery, insist 
upon it that all men, and races of men, are equal in their moral and in- 
tellectual endowments. If the hypotheses are true on which they rest 
their deductions, there will be no disputation as to their conclusions. 
Are all men ecjual ? If so, then all ought to be, and, from the nature 
of things, will be, equally free. Are the races of men equal in intel- 



rhett's oration. 359 

lectual and moral attributes ? If they are, they ought to enjoy, and 
must enjoy, equal privileges in society, and equal political rights. But 
what says Nature to these enquiries, answering from her analogies, 
throughout all creation, animate and inanimate ? It has pleased the 
Almighty Creator of the universe, to make men unequal — unequal in 
intellect, in character and circumstances. xVs all men differ in external 
form and features, so do they differ in their internal, mental and moral 
characteristics. V/hat is the result ? Why, that the strong must rule, 
the weak serve. Would the weak be happier by ruling, instead of serv- 
ing ■ or would the strong be happier by serving, instead of ruling ? If 
it were possible to force into existence such an unnatural condition of 
things, it is plain that nothing but confusion and misery would be the 
result. Men, instead of occupying the spheres of duty and usefulness, 
to which they are best adapted, would be placed in those for which they 
are least qualified. By the natural order of things, in every age, and 
under all forms of government, there have been the poor — and there 
have been those loho serve. Is it wrong that any should be poor, or that 
any should serve ? Then blame the Creator, who has thus ordained 
things from the beginning, by making men, and the races of men, \\\\- 
equal ; not man, who did not make, and cannot unmake, his nature. 
Where there is but one race in a community, there may be political 
equality in rights — but this cannot give equality in mind, character 
and condition. Servitude still prevails in one form or another, from a 
necessity as stern ias the laws. But, where the races are different — and 
one race is inferior to the other — the inferior race must be exterminated, 
or fall into such a state of subjection as to present motives for their 
preservation to the stronger race. The Anglo-Saxon race, at least, will 
not amalgamate with others ; and when any of the inferior races have 
been placed in a condition of competition and equality with them, anni- 
hilation has always been their doom, or they have left the country to 
the inferior race. Of all the races of men, the negro race is the most 
inferior. From the earliest records of history, they have been slaves to 
the other races, and have never risen, by their own unaided energies, 
from a condition of barbarism to any degree of enlightened civilization. 
In the condition of slavery alone have they ever been of any use to the 
world : and where the governance and protection this condition produces 
have been withdrawn, they have relapsed into indolence, ignorance and 
barbarism. This is the experience of the world. The hoarded facts 
of centuries are before us, to enlighten us on the subject of African 
slavery. All facts are despised ; and fanaticism, with furious and mad 
abstractions, cries out for emancipation. Mr. Calhoun was not slow 



i 



360 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

in perceiving the true bearings of the institution of African slavery in 
the Southern States. He was the first, I believe, of great Statesmen in 
the country, who denounced the cant — that slavery is an evil — a curse. 

"I take higher ground," he exclaimed, "I hold that, in the present 
state of civilization, where two races of different origin, and distinguish- 
ed by color, and other physical differences, as well as intellectual, are 
brought together, the relation now existing in the slaveholding States, 
between the two races, is, instead of an evil, a good — a positive good. 
I feel myself called on to speak freely upon this subject, where the honor 
and interests of those I represent are involved. I appeal to facts. 
Never, before, has the black race of Central Africa, from the dawn of 
history to the present day, attained a condition so civilized and so im- 
proved, not only physically, but morally and intellectually. It came 
amongst us in a low, degraded and savage condition, and, in the course 
of a few generations, it has grown up, under the fostering care of our 
institutions, reviled as they have been, to its present comparatively civ- 
ilized condition. This, with the rapid increase of numbers, is conclu- 
sive proof of the general happiness of the race, in spite of all exaggera- 
ted tales to the contrary. In the meantime, the white or European 
Kace has not degenerated. It has kept pace with its brethren in other 
sections of the Union where slavery does not exist. It is odious to 
make comparisons ; but I appeal to all sides, whether the South is not 
equal in virtue, intelligence and patriotism, courage, disinterestedness, 
and all the high qualities which adorn our nature. I ask whether we 
have not contributed our full shai*e of talents and political wisdom, in 
forming and sustaining this political fabric ; and whether we have not 
constantly inclined strongly to the side of liberty, and been the first to 
see, and the first to resist, the encroachments of power." 

"The first in Congress to see, and the first to resist the encroachments 
of power," on this momentous subject, was, undoubtedly, our great 
Statesman. Go back with me, gentlemen, fourteen years, and behold 
Mr. Calhoun standing in the Senate of the United States. He is op- 
posing the reception of abolition petitions. Mark how his prophetic 
vision, looking before and after, takes in the whole scope of the past, 
the present, and the future, on this momentous question. 

" Several years since, in a discussion, with one of the Senators from 
Massachusetts, (Mr. Webster,) before this fell spirit had shewed itself, 
I then 'predicted that the doctrine of the Proclamation and the Force 
Bill — that this Government had a right, in the last resort, to determine 
the extent of its own powers, and enforce it at the point of the bayonet, 
which was so warmly maintained by that Senator — would, at no distant 



rhett's oration. 361 

day, arouse the dormantspirit of abolitionism ; I told liim that the doc- 
trine was tantamount to the assumption of unlimited power, on the part 
of the Grovernment, and that such would be the impression on the pub- 
lic mind in a large portion of the Union. The consequence would be 
inevitable — a large portion of the Northern States believed slavery to 
be a sin, and would believe it to be an obligation of conscience to abol- 
ish it, if they should feel themselves in any degree responsible for its 
continuance, and that his doctrine would, necessarily, lead to the belief 
of such responsibility. I then predicted that it would commence, as it 
has, with this fanatical portion of society; and that they would begin 
their operations on the weak, the ignorant, the young, and the thought- 
less, and would gradually extend upwards, till they became strong 
enough to obtain political control, when he, and others holding the 
highest stations in society, would, however reluctant, be compelled to 
yield to their doctrine, or be driven into obscurity. But four years have 
since elapsed, and all this is already in a course of regular fulfilment. 

*' Standing at the point of time at which we have now arrived, it will 
not be more difficult to trace the course of future events than it was 
then. 

" Those who imagine that the spirit now abroad in the North will die 
away of itself, without a shock or convulsion, have formed a very inade- 
quate conception of its real character. It will continue to rise and 
spread, unless prompt and efficient measures to stay its progress be 
adopted. Already it has taken possession of the pulpit, of the schools, 
and, to a considerable extent, of the press; those great instruments by 
which the mind of the rising generation will be formed. However 
sound the great body of the non-slaveholding States are at present, in a 
few years they will be succeeded by those who will have been taught to 
hate the people and institutions of nearly one-half of this Union, with a 
hatred more deadly than one hostile nation ever entertained towards 
another. It is easy to see the end. By the necessary course of events, 
if left to themselves, we must become, finally, two people. It is im- 
possible, under the deadly hatred which must spring up between the 
two great sections, if the present causes are permitted to operate un- 
checked, that we should continue under the same political system. The 
conflicting elements will burst the Union asunder, as powerful as are the 
links which hold it too-etlier. Abolition and the Union cannot co-exist. 
As the friend of the Union, I openly proclaim it ; and the sooner it is 
known the better. The former may now be controlled, but in a short 
time it will be beyond the power of men to arrest the course of events. 
* * * * We love and cherish the Union, we re- 



362 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

member witli tlie kindest feelings our common origin, with pride our 
common achievements — and fondly anticipate the common greatness 
and glory that seem to await us; but origin, achievements and antici- 
pations of coming greatness are to us as nothing compared to this ques- 
tion. It is to us a vital question. It involves not only our liberty, but 
what is greater, (if, to freemen any thing can be) existence itself. The 
relation which now exists between the two races in the slaveholding 
States, has existed for two centuries. It has grown with our growth, 
and strengthened with our strength. It has entered into and modified 
all our institutions, civil and political. None other can be substituted. 
We will not — cannot permit it to be destroyed. If we were base 
enough to do so, we would be traitors to our section, to ourselves, our 
families, and to posterity. It is our anxious desire to protect and pre- 
serve this relation, by the joint action of this Grovernment, and the 
confederated States of the Union; but if, instead of closing the door, — 
if, instead of denying all jurisdiction and all interference in this ques- 
tion — the doors of Congress are to be thrown open ; and if we are to 
be exposed here, in the heart of the Union, to an endless attack on our 
riehts, our character and institutions — if the other States are to stand 
and look on without attempting to suppress these attacks originating 
within their borders ; and, finally, if this is to be our fixed and permanent 
condition as members of this confederacy, we will then be compelled to 
turn our eyes on ourself. Come what will, should it cost every drop of 
blood, and every cent of property, we must defend ourselves ; and if 
compelled, we would stand justified by all laws, human and divine. 

* 5^ ******** * 

"If we do not defend ourselves, none will defend us; if we yield, 
we will be more and more pressed as we recede; and if we submit, we 
will be trampled under foot. Be assured that emancipation itself 
would not satisfy these fanatics. That gained, the next step would be, 
to raise the negroes to a social and political equality with the whites ; 
and that being efi"ected, we would soon find the present condition of 
the two races reversed. They, and their Northern allies, would be the 
masters, and we the slaves. "' * * * * * * 

" There is but one way to defend ourselves. We must meet the 
enemy on the frontier — on the question of receiving; we must secure 
that important pass — it is our Thermopylae. The power of resistance, 
by an universal law of our nature, is on the exterior. Break through 
the shell — penetrate the crust, and there is no resistance within. In 
the present contest, the question of receiving constitutes our frontier. 
It is the first, the exterior question ; that covers and protects all the 



rhett's oration. 363 

others. Let it be penetrated by receiving tliis petition, and not a point 
of resistance can he found within, as far as this Government is con- 
cerned. If we cannot maintain ourselves there, we cannot on any 
interior position. Of all the questions that can be raised, there is not 
one on which we can rally on ground more tenable for ourselves, or 
more untenable for our opponents, not excepting the ultimate question 
of abolition in the States. For our right to reject this petition, is as 
clear and unquestionable, as that Congress has no right to abolish 
slavery in the States." 

Gentlemen, fourteen years have passed since the Free States, by the 
presentation of abolition petitions, first evinced their intention to inter- 
fere with the institution of slavery in the South. Fourteen years have 
now shed their light on the predictions, warnings, and policy of Mr. 
Calhoun. His predictions have been fulfilled, his warnings realized, 
and his course sustained. It may be a question of doubt whether, after 
the triumph of consolidation in the Tarifli' Act of 1828, and the Force 
Bill, the Union could possibly have been pi-eserved, or was, indeed, 
worth preserving, with its warped and vicious tendencies; for inter- 
ference with the subject of slavery inevitably followed. But if the 
Union could have been preserved, there was one, and but one way of 
saving it — by shutting out the subject of slavery from the halls of 
Congress. The 21st. Rule excluded abolition petitions from the con- 
sideration of Congress. It was the only expedient by which the South 
could be protected from incendiary agitations. And upon its preserva- 
tion depended Southern freedom and equality, and the continuance of 
the Union. It was, as Mr. Calhoun said, our frontier — the TJier- 
mopyUe of the South. And the determination of the North to ovei'- 
leap its barriers, was only proof of the necessity of its continuance, 
and of the rising and presumptuous spirit of abolition. This determi- 
nation should have been met by a determination equally strong on the 
part of the South, to dissolve the Union the instant of its abrogation. 
If, at this early stage of the controversy, five States, nay two States, of 
the South, had instructed their Representatives to withdraw from Con- 
gress immediately on such an exigency, the Rule would have remained 
to this day; or if repealed, and the Union in consequence had been 
dissolved, the result would have been, new guaranties under a re-Union, 
which would have assured to the South permanent equality and respect. 
But after the 21st Rule was repealed in the House of Representatives, 
and the South had tamely submitted, ''it was beyond the power of man 
to arrest the course of events." The only alternatives left to the South 
were, an abolition government, or a dissolution of the Union. Things 



364 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

liave not since clians;ed. Tlie same alternatives now remain before us. 
They have only gone on to their maturer development. 

The emancipation of the slaves in the British West India Islands 
gave a powerful stimulus to anti-slavery fanaticism in the Free States 
of the Union. England, in this, followed France. She had set the 
example, when in the drunken and bloody saturnalia of her first Revo- 
lution, she liberated the slaves of St. Domingo. And what were the 
results of that first liberation of the African slave ? What encourage- 
ment to pursue this policy was afforded by that experiment to other 
nations? Under negro dominion, the exports of the Island fell, in 
fortj years, from 20,000,000, annually, to 2,000,000. The culture of 
sugar was abandoned; and the chief source of commerce remaining, 
was the coffee gathered from the spontaneous production of the ground, 
in places where old plantations formerly stood. Ignorance and super- 
stition, and a barbarism truly African, settled over the Queen Island of 
the Antilles. England saw the result, and yet despite experience, 
borne away by fanaticism, incredulous of the real character of the 
negro, determined to make herself the experiment of negro emancipa- 
tion. The dogma, that free labor is more profitable than slave labor — 
because a man will work more for himself than for another — is true of 
the Anglo Saxon race. The British statesmen supposed it would be 
true of the negro also. They anticipated increased production from the 
West India Islands, and, consequently, cheaper supplies to British sub- 
jects and to the world, of all the tropical productions. These, in all 
ages, have been the chief resource and instruments of commerce ; 
because most contributing to the necessities and comforts of man. 

In the midst of the experiment, three vessels, with slaves on board? 
were driven, by stress of weather, at different times, from the coast of 
the United States into British West India Ports. The slaves were 
taken forcibly out of the vessels, and were emancipated. The Govern- 
ment of the United States required compensation for the negroes thus 
liberated. In the case of two of the vessels, the demand was granted, 
because the apprentice system, preparatory to entire emancipation in 
the British West India Islands, had not terminated. But it was refused 
in the case of the third — the Enterprise — because, at the time she 
entered the British port, slavery had been abolished by law. In this 
decision of the British Government, the administration of Mr. Van 
Buren acquiesced. But Mr. Calhoun was not satisfied. He saw that 
acquiescence had the effect of throwing the institution of slavery with- 
out the pale of the laws of the nations. All other property was deemed 
inviolable, was sacredly protected from interference, when driven by 



rhett's oration. 365 

the act of Grod into a friendly port. And if slaves were to be excepted, 
they were excepted only because^ by the laws of nations, they are not 
properiy. He, therefore, moved resolutions in the Senate, asserting 
the true doctrine on this point, and maintained them by a most able 
speech. The speech was unanswered ; the resolutions passed the 
Senate; and in the negotiations of the Treaty of Washington, assu- 
rances were given by the British negotiator, that outrages of this kind 
should never be repeated. They have never been repeated. 

A few years passed by, and in the British West India Islands the 
practical effects of emancipation became visible. They, too, took the 
downward course of St. Domingo; and instead of increased supplies of 
the tropical productions by African free labor, a rapid decline in all 
pi'oductions whatsoever, characterize the daily retrogression of the 
negro, to his condition in his native jungle. Great Britain awakes 
from her dream of independence. As her West Indies decline in 
exports, she sees herself more and more dependent on Brazil, Cuba 
and the United States for their slave-grown produce. What course 
shall we pursue to retrieve her folly ? Controlling in any way the 
tropical productions, she would achieve her own independence and con- 
trol the commerce of the world. And how can this be dore ? Abolish 
slavery in Brazil, Cuba and the United States — let negro indolence and 
barbarism prevail over these regions, as in Hayti and her own West 
Indies ; and the East Indies, under her direction, would become the 
only source of supplying the world with the produce of the tropics. 
This is the only clue (giving the politicians of England credit for 
statesmanship) to their policy in striving to extend emancipation over 
Texas, and to keep her out of the Union. There is no statesmanship 
in fanaticism. Fanaticism is feebler reason, mastered by a stronger 
imagination or passion. Its mists, if any had obscured the vision of 
British statesmen, must have been dispelled when they repealed the 
duties in fovor of their West India colonies, and against slave-grown 
productions. 

Mr. Calhoun saw through this policy : Texas became necessary to 
the safety of the 3outh — as necessary then, as California and New 
Mexico are now — to prevent the circumscribing and hemming-in of the 
South, by free States, hostile to her institutions. With a view to the 
protection of the South on this subject, he left his retirement and 
accepted the appointment of Secretary of State, tendered him by 
President Tyler, and unanimously confirmed by the Senate, without a 
reference. He made a treaty, admitting Texas into the Union. It 
failed in the Senate; but ths discussion awakened at the rejection of 



366 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN, 

the treaty, had entered into the popular mind ; and to enlighten it still 
further, Mr. Calhoun wrote that admirable dispatch to Mr. King, our 
Minister to France. Here he exposed the designs of England, exhibit- 
ing the true bearing of the annexation of Texas upon other nations. 
To this dispatch, perhaps, more than to any other cause, we may 
attribute the final success of the measure. It lifted the question above 
mere sectional considerations, and gave it an aspect entirely new. Shall 
we be dependent on England, or England on us ? shall England or shall 
the United States control the commerce of the world ? Such views ope- 
rated powerfully all over the country, but especially in the South, whose 
ruin was essential to the success of the British scheme. At the next 
Congress, the measure of annexing Texas was again brought forward, 
and was carried. In gaining this great victory for the South, many 
able men co-operated. It may not be just to them to say, as was alleged 
in the Senate Chamber, that Mr. Calhoun was the author of this 
annexation : it is, however, safe to affirm, that, hut for Mr. Calhoun, 
Texas would never have been a part of the Union. 

This measure being happily concluded, it was thought by many that 
the institution of slavery was secure from the intervention of Northern 
fanatics at home, or of foreign nations abroad. It proved, however, to 
be but another step in the progress of things, making up for the South 
the grand alternative of AhoUtion or Disunion. 

Out of the annexation of Texas sprung the Mexican War. Mr. Cal- 
houn perceived that a war with Mexico would jeopard all advantages 
the South had just won by the acquisition of Texas. At its very 
commencement, the North declared their intention to appropriate all 
territory that might be acquired from Mexico, by either conquest or 
treaty. Those who believed that the General Grovernment was irreform- 
able — that nothing could arrest its downward progress to consolidation 
— that it was irretrievably gone under the dominion of the Free States, 
and that the South would have sooner or later to seek safety from the 
dangers and oppressions it would spread over them, in a dissolution of 
the Union, were not at all alarmed at such declarations. Their fulfil- 
ment would only force on that issue between the free and slave States 
which must come, and which every consideration of policy on the part 
of the slave States required should be speedily determined. But Mr. 
Calhoun had no sympathy with views like these. He loved the Union 
for itself. He loved it, because it had been the object of his great and 
patriotic labors — the theatre of all his achievements. The South he 
loved more : '' There he had garnered up his heart, where either he 
must live or bear no life." And the dread alternative of choosing 



rhett's oration. 367 

between them, he could not contemplate without grief and alarm. To 
save both, he opposed the Mexican War. He opposed it iu its incep- 
tion, as unnecessary — in its continuance, as boding only evil. 

" Every Senator knows," said he, in one of his speeches during the 
war, " that I was opposed to the war ; but no one knows but myself the 
depth of that opposition. With my conceptions of its character and 
consequences, it was impossible for me to vote for it. When, accord- 
ingly, I was deserted by every friend on this side the House, including 
my then honorable colleague among the rest, (Mr. McDuffie,) I was not 
shaken in the least degree in reference to my course. On the passage 
of the Act recognizing the war, I said, to many of my friends, that a 
deed had been done from which the country would not be able to re- 
cover for a long time, if ever;" and added, " it has dropped a curtain 
between the present and the future, which to me is impenetrable ; and 
for the first time in my life, I am unable to see the future." He also 
added, " that it has closed i\\e first volume of our political history under 
the Constitution, and opened the second; and that no mortal could tell 
what would be written in it." 

How majestic his solitary position in the Senate on this occasion ! 
How sad his prophetic forebodings ! The curtain is lifting, and the 
hideous features of triumphant Abolition are scowling behind it. The 
new volume of our political history is opened, and Revolution is written 
on its pages ; revolution, by consolidation — or revolution, by disunion. 
His speech on the Three Million Bill showed from whence the darkness 
rose which obscured his mental vision. 

''But there is," he said, " a still deeper, a still more terrific difficulty 
to be met— a difficulty more vital than those to which I have alluded— 
a difficulty arising out of a division of sentiment, which went to the 
very foundation of our Government. How should these lands be dis- 
posed of, if any were acquired ? To whose benefit should they accrue ? 
Should they accrue to the exclusive benefit of one portion of the Union ? 
We were told, and he was fearful that appearances too well justified the 
assertion, that all parties in the non-slaveholding portion of the Union 
insisted that they should have the exclusive control of this acquired 
territory — that such provision should be made as should exclude those 
who were interested in the institutions of the South from a participation 
in the advantages to be derived from the application of those institutions 
to the territory thus acquired. 

" Sir, if the non-slaveholding States, having no other interest in the 
question excepting their aversion to slavery — if they can come to this 
conclusion, with no interest in the matter but this, I turn and ask 



368 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

gentlemen what must be the feeling of the population of the slaveholding 
States, who are to be deprived of their constitutional rights, and de- 
spoiled of the property belonging to them — assailed in the most vulnera- 
ble point (for to them this question was a question of safety, of self- 
preservation, and not a mere question of policy) : and thus to be de- 
spoiled by those who were not concerned ? If there were sternness and 
determination on one side, they might be assured there would be on the 
other." 

But not content with expressing his opinions on the Three Million 
Bill, Mr. Calhoun afterwards offered a series of resolutions on this 
<' still more terrible difficulty," affirming the equal constitutional rights 
of the States to any territory which may be acquired by the war. These 
resolutions he supported by a speech, which concluded in the following 
strain : 

" I see my way in the Constitution. I cannot in any compromise. 
A compromise is but an act of Congress. It may be overruled^ at any 
time. It gives us no security. But the Constitution is stable. It is 
a rock. On it we can stand. It is a firm and stable ground, on which 
we can better stand in opposition to fanaticism than on the shifting 
sands of compromise. Let us be done with compromises. Let us go 
back and stand upon the Constitution ! 

" Well, sir, what if the decision of this body shall deny us this high 
constitutional right, not the less clear because deduced from the whole 
body of the instrument, and the nature of the subject to which it re- 
lates ? What, then, is the question ? I will not undertake to decide. 
It is a question for our constituents — the slaveholding States — a solemn 
and a great question. If the decision should be adverse, I trust and 
do believe that they will take under solemn consideration what they 
ought to do. I give no advice. It would be hazardous and dangerous 
for me to do so. But I may speak as an individual member of that 
section of the Union. There I drew my first breath. There are all my 
hopes. There are my family and connections. I am a planter — a 
cotton planter. I am a Southern man, and a slaveholder — a kind and 
merciful one, I trust — and none the worse for being a slaveholder. I 
say, for one, I would rather meet any extremity on earth, than give up 
one inch of our equality — one inch of what belongs to tcs, as members of 
this great Republic. What ! acknowledge inferiority ? The surrender 
of life is nothing to sinking down into acknowledged inferiority. 

" I have examined this subject largely — ^widely. I think I see the 
future, if we do not stand up as we ought. In my humble opinion in 
that case, the condition of Ireland is prosperous and happy — the con- 



rhett's oration. 369 

dition of Hindostan is prosperous and happy — the condition of Jamaica 
is prosperous and happy, to what the Southern States will be, if they 
should not noiv stand up manfully in defence of their rights." 

The war continued; and the year after, was closed. The ^'terrific 
difficulti/" came. We acquired an immense extent of territory from 
Mexico, and the free States manifested the determination of excludins; 
the slave States, and of taking the whole of it for themselves. A caucus 
of the Southern representatives in Congress assembled in the Senate 
Chamber. The result of their counsels was, an Address to the people 
of the Southern States, written by Mr. Calhoun, and signed by a large 
portion of the Southern representatives. It contained nothing but a 
simple statement of facts — the more powerful, from its very simplicity. 
At that session all efforts at compromise were defeated by the free 
States, in combination with a few Southern representatives. It was 
clear that the free States would be content with nothing short of the 
total exclusion of the Southern States from all our territories. Mr. 
Calhoun's health, long feeble, now gave manifest signs of a sure de- 
cline. He fainted three times during the session, in the lobby of the 
Senate — worn out by anxiety and working — but working on still. On 
one of these occasions I heard that he had fallen, and had been borne 
into the Vice President's room. I hastened to him, and found him 
sitting on a sofa by the fireside, Avith his coat and waistcoat off. It was 
a cold, bitter day. As I approached him, he said, extending his hand 
— " Ah ! Mr. Rhett, my career is nearly done. The great battle must 
be fought by you younger men." " I hope not, sir," was my reply — 
" for never was your life more precious, or your counsels more needed 
for the guidance and salvation of the South." He answered — " there, 
indeed, is my only regret at going — the South — the poor South ! " and 
his eyes filled with tears. I entreated him to put on his clothes. "I 
cannot," he said — "■ I am burning up — wait until I am cool." He was 
burning up — burning up by the internal fire of his own intense spirit, 
fed by ever restless anxieties for the Union, and his own, his beloved 
South. At the earnest remonstrances of friends, he kept out of the 
Senate Chamber, and his health seemed to improve towards the close 
of this session ; but few expected to see him again in Washington. 
They did not know the man — how self-abandoned was his sense of duty 
— how insignificant was health or life, where the safety or honor of the 
South or his native State was concerned. He believed — and believed 
truly, that the next session of Congress would settle — and settle forever, 
for good or evil, the destiny of the Union and the South. 

To have strength enough to reach Washington at the opening of 
24 



\ 



370 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

Congress, and to be there — was a necessary sequence in the nature of 
things. But he was soon driven to his chamber, by the stern liand of 
approaching death. With his mind and heart laboring, and full with 
the portentous issues before the country, he wrote in his sick chamber 
that last effort of his great mind — his last speech — that master-piece of 
lucid logic, calm wisdom, and noble patriotism, which i^e — ice, his 
countrymen, for whom he lived and died, " will not willingly let die." 
Tablets of brass or marble, on which it may be recorded, may fail ; but 
it shall not fail in its effects. It shall live forever, in the redeemed 
honor and liberties of the South. It was the last flash of the sun, to 
show the ship of State her only port of safety, as darkness and the 
howling tempest closed around her. He died — for his work was done. 
If the South would not heed his warnings and counsels, why should he 
live ? But if she regarded them — and would more regard them, when 
uttered by his dying lips— why should he not die ? His work was 
done. Yet he wished for one more hour in the Senate Chamber, ere 
he departed. What longed he to utter there ? Had his mighty spirit 
devised some new way to save the Union, consistent with the liberties 
of the South ? Or did he wish to utter there that word which all his 
lifetime he could not speak, although wrong and oppression tortured 
him — that word, which dying despair could alone wring from his aching 
lieart — disunion ! ! The secret counsels of that longed-for hour, he was 
not permitted to disclose, and they lie buried with him in his grave ; 
but he had said enough for duty— enough for liberty and honor— enough 
for our salvation. If we will not heed his warnings, and follow the 
counsels he has left us, neither would we be persuaded, though he rose 
from the dead. 

GrENTLEMEN : — The character of Mr. Calhoun has been drawn by 
a hundred pens, which, although differing in their coloring, agree in 
the grand features which composed it. As a Statesman, he will be 
estimated in our day according to party affinities. He stood too often 
above the two great parties of the country, not to be hated by the party 
bigots of both ; but the time will come, perhaps is near at hand, when 
the passions and prejudices which party awakens, will be allayed — when 
events will have tested the wisdom of his counsels, and the correctness 
of his principles — and history, with her iron pen, will engrave on her 
imperishable tablets, the true character of his statesmanship. She will, 
probably, record that, as a practical Statesman, his great defect was, 
that he pursued principles too exclusively. Principles are unerring ; 
but in their practice and application in the affairs of Government, we 
have to deal with erring man. Hence, the necessity often of qualifica- 



rhett's oration. 371 

tion. Hence, too, the necessity, in public life, of address on the part 
of a gi-eat political leader to obtain success in the control and governance 
of men — kindness towards their dissent — patience with their errors — 
and a boundless charity. Mr. Calhoun sunk himself too much, and 
pu.t his principles too high, in his personal relations. If this feature of 
his character made him, apparently, too easily part with friends, it made 
him, also, the most placable of foes. No matter what had been his 
former personal relations, he could co-operate with any one in pursuing 
any policy he thought the interest of the country required. The politics 
of some men are made by their associations and friendships — the politics 
of others are controlled by their enmities. Mr. Calhoun was above 
all personal influences. The good of his country, according to those 
great principles he had wrought out, appeared to govern his whole 
political course. This peculiarity made him a great Statesman ; but he 
was not a great party leader. He understood principles — he understood 
how they should be enforced — but he did not understand how best to 
control and use, for their enforcement, that compound of truth and 
error — reason and prejudice — passion and weakness — man. To this 
cause, perhaps, more than to any other, it may be attributed that, 
although the head of his party in creating and elaborating its principles, 
he never obtained the hiii'hest ofiice it could bestow. If he souiiht this 
highest ofiice — he sought it and would have accepted it, only for the 
purpose of enforcing his principles. Conscious of his pure intents and 
mighty powers, he believed that if he had the control of the adminis- 
tration of the Government, he could keep it within the prescribed limits 
of the Constitution, and save and perpetuate the Union. But could he, 
could any man, however great, popular, and just, have arrested the 
onward march of consolidation, vmder the unscrupulovis ambition, fana- 
ticism, and avarice of the Free States ? Aristotle, Locke, Sydney, 
Russell, Hume, were theoretical Statesmen. Pericles, Walpole, Chat- 
ham, Fox, Peel, were practical Statesmen. Burke was both a theoreti- 
cal and a practical Statesman — and the greatest in the combination of 
all the qualifications of statesmanship England has ever produced. But, 
unfortunately, he lived at a time, and amidst circumstances, which 
induced him to lean on the side of order, privilege, and government, 
rather than that of liberty. Mr. Calhoun, although his inferior in 
cultivation and in the gorgeous splendor of his imagination — was not 
his inferior in naked reasoning, deep analysis, and a profound knowledge 
of the principles of free Government. The one had the British Consti- 
stitution, with all its anomalies and abuses, to defend — the other, the 
Constitution of the United States, in its federative and free principles, 



372 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

(tlie most wonderful political production of the world) to elucidate and 
enforce. Burke exhibited a more beautiful efflorescence — but Calhoun 
the soundest fruit. In theoretical statesmanship, Aristotle, from 
amongst the ancients, will, probably, alone stand beside him ; but as a 
practical Statesman, many, both in ancient and modern times, may rank 
above him ; because he failed in enforcing his policy. But he did not 
look to his personal success, nor to the practical enforcement of his 
policy, as the measure of his fame. He looked to future ages ; and 
tnisting to the improvement of men in civilization, and the extension of 
free Grovernments, he anticipated the happy period, when the liberties 
of the world, in a thousand Republics, would rest on the mighty foun- 
dations his 2;enius had wrought out and laid down for their erection and 
eternal duration. Turning to the immortality before us in our after 
life, the remembrance of us by the world we must soon leave, may be of 
very little moment. This is the voice of reason. And yet, there is a 
yearning for a name amongst future generations — there is a thirst to 
live with them, by the blessings we may impart, which has nerved the 
noblest minds to the noblest efforts and sacrifices. It was from this 
yearning on earth after a glorious immortality, that the ancient philo- 
sopher inferred the soul's immortality in an after life. Mr. Calhoun, 
doubtless, believed the great principles of free government he originated 
and advocated, to be as eternal as trvith itself, and as lasting as man ; 
and was he not animated, too, with the inspiring hope that his name 
would live with them in all after ages ? Thousands of generous spirits, 
since the entrance of civilized man on this continent, have lived and 
died with the hope of a prolonged fame amongst future generations ; 
but I can discover but two men who will probably obtain this fame — 
Washington and Calhoun — the former, as the founder of a great 
Republic — the latter, as the discoverer of the true principles of free 
government. The political knaves and charlatans of our day, who have 
overturned the Constitution of the United States, with all its beautiful 
proportions, and wonderful contrivances for the perpetuation of liberty, 
will only be remembered, if remembered at all, amongst the vulgar herd 
who have cursed their generation by their faithless fanaticism, avarice, 
or ambition. 

Mr. Calhoun's mind, in its characteristics, was as striking as it was 
r great. It stood forth like the Egyptian Pyramids — vast, simple, and 
grand. It was essentially Southern, with none of that affectation, pre- 
tension, and glitter about it, which deforms the literature and oratory 
of the Northern people. Meretricious ornament was as unsuitable to it 
as verdure on the top of the highest Andes. No flowers grew on the 



rhett's oration, 373 

banks of the mighty river of his thoughts, as it broke its way through 
mountains, and left rocks and gigantic cliffs beetling over it. Yet 
there is au earnestness and elevation in his language, which bears the 
mind on, as if on a swift, deep current. His close, compact, and im- 
pregnable logic, moved with the precision and measured tread of a 
Spartan phalanx. Stone upon stone, he reared the pile of his fair 
argument, until at length it stood a lofty temple, with its steeples and 
domes looking up to heaven, and bathed in the light of eternal truth. 
If he failed to convince, (for conviction is not always the result of 
reason) he never failed to elicit admiration or wonder at the expositions 
of his intellect. In debate, he was collected and deliberate, but when 
warmed in argument, he looked the embodiment of fiery thought. In 
conversation, he failed — that is, he failed for such a mind — because his 
conversation was reasoning. Conversation in society is not sought for 
the purpose of business or instruction ; still less, for the exercise of 
logical reasoning. It is rather sought, to play with, or to banish thought, 
than to excite it. Amusement — intellectual amusement — the amuse- 
ment which wit imparts, or the affections excite, are the great objects 
of conversation. Mr. Calhoun, although always cheerful, had but 
little wit, and still less of that acerbity or malignity of temper, which 
gives wit its sharpest edge and deepest interest in exposing the folly or 
weaknesses of others. He discoursed, rather than conversed ; and so 
rapid and forcible were his thoughts, that his hearers listened and 
admii-ed rather than replied, for comprehension was often at fault. 
Young men, especially, delighted to look down into his intellect, as if 
hanging over the deep clear lakes of Florida, where the smallest pebbles 
and shells are seen at the greatest depths. 

But the crowning glory of Mr. Calhoun's character was in his 
private life. He said himself, on one occasion to a friend — " I have 
been defamed and vilified in every particular but in my private life ; . 
and thank God 1 there, neither envy, malice, nor falsehood, has dared 
to assail me." When the sad news of his death arrived, his neighbors, 
with whom he had lived thirty years, with one accord assembled to- 
gether, and having expressed their grief at their loss, they sent a depu- 
tation to request that his body may be laid amongst them. They wished 
to cherish the sad semblance of still being near him ; and to bring their 
children to the green sod where he lay, and tell them of the simple- 
hearted friend — the good counsellor — the blessed peace-maker — the 
pure and deathless patriot, whose bosom it covers. But what shall we 
say of that patience — that purity — that tenderness — with which he 
embraced all beneath his roof ? Shall we speak of those domestic rela- 



374 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

tions, which give us all that is left us of our first estate; and whose 
dissolution by the hand of death, there is but one Physician who can 
cure — there is but one balm which can heal ? Shall we enter into his 
home, where bleeding hearts are still mourning his absence and their 
desolation — and tearful eyes are looking at those places which once 
knew him, but shall now know him no more forever ? No, no ! — We 
turn away in grief for them — in grief for ourselves. 

Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives, I have 
finished, although feebly performed, the mournful task assigned me. 
Our last honors to the honored dead, are about to close. You were not 
ungrateful for the services he rendered you ; and he tried to repay you 
by a filial devotion, which ceased only with life. State and Statesman, 
you have held to each other, as only those can do, who esteem and love 
one another, without doubt, or fear, or shame. You have been re- 
proached for trusting him too confidingly; and he has been reproached 
for seeking too intensely and exclusively your interests and honor. Let 
those without the State blame and upbraid. We rejoice that we have 
upheld him, as we have done ; and now, when we can no longer feel 
his mighty arm supporting us, we would not give our dead statesman 
for all the living statesmen of this broad continent. We mourn our 
loss; but we value the treasures his life and intellect have left us, more 
than " the wealth of Ormus and of Ind." We mourn our loss ; but, 
standing over his remains, we cannot but hate the tyranny that hurried 
him to his grave — and love the liberty for which he lived, and wasted, 
and died. Cherishing his memory, we dare not be slaves. Looking 
to his example and precepts, we must and will be free. If his home, 
whilst living, was sacred to purity and honor, his last resting place shall 
not be polluted by the foul footsteps of traitors to liberty. And, when 
over the long track of ages to come, the star of his genius shall still 
shine on, to lead the nations to freedom — it shall not be forgotten that 
South Carolina, the land of his nativity, reared him — sustained him — 
and honored him to the last. 




SMITH'S DISCOURSE. 



The Rectitude of the Divine Administration : a Discourse suggested by the death 
of Hon. J. C. Calhoun, delivered in the Methodist Church of Columbia, South 
Carolina, on Sunday, April 7, 1850, by Rev. Whitefoord Smith, D. D. 

" Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?""— Gen-esis xvin, 25. 

The interrogation of the text, my Christian brethren, implies two 
great truths. The first, that there is a God, "whose superintending provi- 
dence is over all his works. The second, that it is impossible for Him 
to do wrong. Nor let it be supposed that these are abstract truths, 
which have no application to the practical affairs of daily life ; for, in 
the perpetual vicissitudes of human fortune, in the innumerable trials 
and aiflictions incident to mortal life, what support can be found for the 
heirs of sorrow like that which is furnished by the consideration that a 
just and gracious Grod presides over the universe, directing and control- 
ling all its events for purposes of infinite wisdom and goodness ? And, 
especially, when the dispensations of His providence are inscrutable and 
mysterious; when all the powers of reason are inadequate to compre- 
hend his designs ; what other refuge is there for the mind and heart, 
but an humble and faithful reliance on the essential attributes of God ? 
Thus, when the cities of the plain were doomed to destruction, and it 
pleased the Almighty to reveal to his servant Abraham their approach- 
ing overthrow, and when the patriarch became the intercessor, and 
would plead their cause, the strong argvimeut with which he emboldened 
himself before his Maker was the language of the text, '^ Shall not the 
Judge of all the earth do right?" And when the judgment was exe- 
cuted, and Araham looked, ''and lo ! the smoke of the country went up 
as the smoke of a furnace/' though he might mourn over their ruin, yet, 
doubtless his heart, was sustained by its faith in the rectitude of the Di- 
vine Administration. So, too, when the tidings of disaster upon disas- 
ter came to Job, until the intelligence of his afflictions seemed too much 
for nature to sustain, " he fell down upon the ground and worshipped," 
saying, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall 1 
return thither : the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed 
be the name of the Lord." 



376 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

How much more accordant with the dignity of man and the teachings 
of a pure philosophy, is such a submission to the behests of Heaven, 
than the frantic ravings of an Atheist, who would fain deny the exist- 
ence of the hand beneath whose blow he falls ! 

In the history of nations, as well as in the experience of individuals, 
there are constantly occurring occasions for the exercise of these salutary 
reflections. For national calamities as well as for private griefs, there 
is the same heavenly solace — "the Lord hath prepared his throne in the 
Heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all."' 

You will readily perceive the appropriateness of these thoughts to our 
present circumstances. But the last Sabbath, the pleasant chime of the 
church-going bells was suddenly changed into the slow and solemn toll — 
the death-knell of the departed. With electric rapidity were the tidings 
spread, that one of the most illustrious of our country's Senators was 
numbered with the dead. That he who, but a few days before, with 
the promise of returning strength, had lifted up his voice in the Capitol 
in defence of the dearest interests of his State, was now no more. The 
loss of this distinguished Statesman is recognised as a national affiiction. 
His name had long been inscribed upon his country's brightest page, 
enrolled among her most honored sons. But to the State which gave 
him birth, and to which he ever acknowledged his fii'st allegiance due, 
his loss is no ordinary bereavement. When a good and virtuous man 
dies, whose generous acts have endeared him to the community in which 
he lived, friends and neighbors gather around his bier, and many a tear 
of sympathy is shed. But there is a deeper sorrow felt by those who 
knew him as husband, father, brother. Theirs is a grief which stran- 
gers cannot know ; and the habitation which his presence invested with 
joy is filled with ''mourning and lamentation and woe." Such is the 
affliction of South Carolina at the death of the late Hon. John C. Cal- 
houn. 

Your attention might be occupied with the recital of his illustrious 
acts — with a history of his high career. The virtues which adorned his 
character ; the profound philosophy which displayed itself in all he said ; 
the utter forsetfulness of self in his devotion to the interests of his State 
and country might well form the theme of a long discourse. But these 
appropriately belong to another occasion. They will be written upon the 
pages of history — they will be engraven upon the hearts of posterity. 

You will allow me to turn your attention now to those sacred lessons 
which most befit the day, and which this mournful event is well calcu- 
lated to impress on every breast. 

If the first lesson we should learn from this afiiiction be drawn directly 



smith's discourse. 377 

from the text, it will be an acknowledgment of the justice of God, and 
submission to his will. Revealed religion affords the only rational view 
of the divine nature. While it proclaims the supremacy of God, it ex- 
hibits all his attributes in perfect harmony. His benevolence is not lost 
amid the splendors of his aulic reign ; nor his justice forgotten in the 
exercise of an infinite compassion. His eternal wisdom directs his al- 
mighty power; and though "his judgments are unsearchable, and his 
ways past finding out," they are still consistent with his essential good- 
ness. Though " clouds and darkness are round about Jiim, yet righte" 
ousaess and judgment are the habitation of his throne." Unfortunately 
for us, it is but too characteristic of our fallen nature to murmur at the 
dispensations of an all-wise Providence, because we cannot comprehend 
its purposes; aud foolishly to judge the acts of Heaven rather than 
piously to submit to its will. We forget that our frailty should teach 
us our dependence, and that our ignorance should prompt us to faith. 
W^hen the dearest hopes we have cherished are blighted in an hour, and 
the props upon which we have leaned are suddenly removed, instead of 
turning our eyes upward and exhorting our hearts to trust in God, we 
look only to the desolations around us, and " sorrow even as others which 
have no hope." W^e challenge the wisdom of the dispensation which 
we cannot understand, and often impute injustice to the moral Governor 
of the world. Forgetful that our sins have deserved chastisement, we 
are resistful under the stroke of his hand. Forgetful of the mercy that 
gave, we think only of the judgment which has taken away. Our grat- 
itude for the benefaction we have long enjoyed is lost in our grief for its 
removal; and our thoughts of God are frequently as ungrateful as they 
are unjust. Such, my brethren, is the gloom which surrounds us when 
we cast aside the word of inspired truth, and depend upon the uncertain 
teachings of darkened reason — when we forset 



•■&'- 



" The divinity that stirs -within us ; 

" That points out an liereafter, 

"And intimates eternity to man;" 

and look only to the brief and little interests that attach to our present 
state. The brightest illustrations of a fortitude that endures without 
complaint, of a heroism that triumphs over all obstruction, investing 
humanity with a dignity more than earthly, have been found in those 
whose faith had based itself upon the word of God, and whose gaze was 
fixed, not upon the fading glories of this world, but upon that exalted 
and enduring scene, 

"Where Seraphs gather immortality from life's fair tree." 



878 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

The eye of sense can discover in many a dispensation of Providence 
naught but ''shadows, clouds, and darkness;" but the eye of faith, 
piercing through the gloom, discerns far beyond the all-guiding hand, 
and relies for safety and for succor upon him who dwells in the ineffable 
brightness. What though the dispensation be shrouded in mysterious 
darkness ? What though the infinite desians exceed our hishest 
thought — '^ Shall mortal man be more just than God ?" Shall we charge 
the Almighty with injustice, because he hath not made us his counsel- 
lors ? There will come a day when Grod will vindicate his own admin- 
istration — when the results of his present operations shall have devel- 
oped themselves — when the mind, in its nobler state, shall be freed from 
the shackles of ignorance and prejudice and error which encircle it 
here — when truth will assert her high prerogative — when the light of 
eternity shall shine upon all his works ; — and then shall every heart 
acknowledge his justice, his wisdom, and his goodness. When the sen. 
sual shall have sunk into its own corruption, and the spiritual shall have 
ascended to its own immortality, then shall the Just One receive uni- 
versal homage, and the righteousness of Grod shall be the splendor of 
his throne. 

If we consider the relation in which we stand to our great Creator, 
it will be the dictate of reason, as it is the doctrine of revelation, that 
we should yield implicit submission to his will. If there is any good use 
to which adversity may be made subservient, it is the part of wisdom 
to find it out. A repining fretfulness over misfortune never lightened 
the burden nor brought comfort to the complaining spirit; but an hum- 
ble and pious acknowledgment of the will of God, and meek submission to 
his chastenings, have often brought tranquillity to the troubled heart, and 
lighted with the ray of celestial hope the otherwise impenetrable gloom. 

It is permitted the Christian to regard every aflSictive dispensation 
either as part of the discipline by which he is fitted for Heaven, or as 
a visitation of mercy sent him in disguise. The restraints which are 
exercised over human passion may be painful ; nevertheless they are 
necessary and good. The heavens may be clothed with blackness, yet 
they teem with fertilizing rains. The thunder-storm may be terrific to 
the eye, yet it may purify the noxious air. In the whole economy of 
nature has God instituted such analogies, that we may learn to trust him 
in the darkest hours, and under the severest trials of our faith. De- 
prived of such a comfort as this in God inspii'es, many a grief were too 
intolerable to be borne — 

"A night, that glooms us in the noon-tide my, 
And wraps our thought, at banquets, in the shroud." 



smith's discourse. 379 

Another important lesson which the late mournful event is well cal- 
culated to teach us, is the trailty and vanity of man. Death ought to 
be at all times impressive; but when he has selected ''a shining mark/' 
and his victim is taken from amono; the luminaries of a land — when the 
eye of genius is dimmed, and the voice of the eloquent orator is hushed 
in everlasting silence, and the wisdom of the prudent counsellor has 
perished — then with what force come the words of inspiration — " Let 
not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man 
glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches." 

However melancholy it may be to witness the instability of all human 
good, the impoteucy of man to resist the progress of decay and the 
power of death — to behold the bright intellectual light extinguished 
in the darkness of the grave, and the overthrow of high hopes and noble 
aspirations; it is well that we should pause and linger upon the painful 
subject, for though the countenance may be made sad, yet the heart 
may be made better. " The busy scene in which we live, naturally 
takes up our thoughts and attention, and it is with difficulty that they 
are called off to the contemplation of truths that are speculative, and 
which we consider as standing at a distance from us. The senses, 
imagination, and passsions are perpetually crowding the mii«i with 
objects of their own, and amidst the noise and tumult of these, the still 
voice of reason is not easily heard." But when a great calamity has 
overtaken us, when we stand in the presence of death, and learn that 
no human skill could avert the blow, no human love procure even a 
postponement of the doom, the united voice of reason and inspiration 
loudly cry, " this is the end of all — let the living lay it to his heart." 
How powerful a corrective is this to the natural pride of man. If in 
the hour of prosperity he forgets that he is mortal, and imagines that 
his mountain stands strong, let him consider the day of adversity which 
shall surely come; for ''God hath set the one over against the other." 
Let him not look alone at the grandeur of his present state, and be 
unmindful of the destiny which awaits him ; but rather let him set his 
house in order, for he shall die and not live. "For he seeth that wise 
men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their 
wealth to others." 

"The boast of heraldi-y, the pomp of power, 
And all that beauty, all that Avealth e'er gave 

Await alike th' inevitable hour, 

The paths of glory lead — but to the grave." 

With how strong an appeal do such reflections come to us to-day. 



380 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

But the other day, aud he whom we now mourn occupied his place 
amoas the o-reat men of our nation and of the world. His-was no 
common mind — his no ordinary fame. His country honored him, and 
the world admired ; but alas ! what availed the quick perception, the 
keen sagacity, the profound analysis, and all the varied stores Of a 
capacious mind ? The mighty champion in many a field of intellectual 
strife stood powerless here. The great destroyer respected not the 
badees of his high distinction, but seized him as another trophy of all- 
conquering Death. 

The duty of the preacher would be but partially performed, if he 
withheld another lesson which this occasion eminently suggests. One 
of the most appi'opriate duties which this bereavement is calculated to 
impress upon the minds of the people of this State, is, to place their 
trust less on man and more on God. Such was the honor and venera- 
tion in which our departed Senator was held — so proud were we of his 
genius, and his exalted worth — that we were in danger of forgetting our 
dependence upon Grod, in our reliance on the wisdom and patriotism of 
man. "Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils," is the com- 
mand of God, and " put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, 
in whom there is no help." And yet, though constantly admonished 
of the frailty of such support, how prone are we to rely upon the 
creature to the neglect of the Creator. When one of our fellows whom 
God has highly endowed, and raised up in his providence for some great 
occasion, appears among us, and is the instrument of our deliverance — 
when his counsels are wise and safe, and his firmness and courage emi- 
nently qualify him for our defence, and under his leadership we have 
been successful, how natural it is to us to repose on him in seasons of 
peril, and to conclude that all is well under his vigilant supervision. 
If such views be only restrained within their proper limit, and an hum- 
ble trust in God be cultivated — if we think not of men more highly 
than we ought to think, but regard them as the instruments of a super- 
intending power; if we transfer not our faith from its proper object, 
God — then is it but an act of justice and gratitude to honor those whose 
services have benefited or saved the commonwealth. But whenever 
we go beyond the proper bound, and place that confidence in man which 
should be put in God alone, we lay the foundation for future disappoint- 
ment; for it is written — '* Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and 
maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." 

In the present embarrassed and threatening position of our public 
affairs, there is danger, my brethren, lest we have been looking too much 
to au arm of flesh to save us, and too little to our God. While the 



smith's discourse. 381 

storm has been raging, we have perhaps beeu sleeping quietly, because 
we had confidence in the skill of those to whom the national interests 
were intrusted. The removal from among us of such a man, at such a 
time, should awaken us all to the necessity of calling upon Grod, and 
making him our trust. Our true security lies in his protection and 
blessing; and our inward peace, amid the tumult which may rage 
around, will be proportioned to our faith in him. It may be well for 
us to consider how far such may be the purpose of Grod in our present 
affliction. If the triumphant genius of man could devise the way of 
our deliverance from the evils which now impend, our natural prone- 
ness to rely on man might only be increased. But if we feel that those 
in whom we trusted are taken away, shall it not lead us to supplicate 
more earnestly the aid of Grod, and to give the glory of deliverence to 
him who alone can effect it? 

Nor let us be forgetful of the experience of the past. How many 
emergencies have arisen in the history of our country, and in the his- 
tory of all nations, when the timid and trembling heart has looked 
around for an earthly deliverer, and mourned that those on whom it was 
accustomed to rely had been taken away? And yet, with every such 
exigency has God interposed, and either in his providence turned aside 
the ill, or raised up such men as were suited to the times. Such 
remembrances should encourage us to-day. When the devoted band of 
Apostles had been removed from the early church, Grod raised up 'Hhe 
noble army of the martyrs." When a sepulchral gloom again en- 
shrouded her, he gave the great Kedeemer. Turn, then, your eyes to 
him who kindled that light whose extinction you now deplore, and 
learn to trust his goodness, as well as to fear his power. 

It is a merciful ordination of Heaven, that even our heaviest afflic- 
tions may be sanctified, and the very events which we bewail as adver- 
sities may be converted into blessings. Though tliis be now beyond 
our comprehension, yet our faith joyfully receives it. " We have heard 
with our ears, our fathers have told us, what work God did in their 
days, in the times of old." Let our reliance be on him. The God of 
our fathers is our God, and he will still be our guide. Oh I if in this 
time of our national distress and darkness, it shall please him to cause 
the light of his countenance to be lifted up upon us, the lowering 
clouds shall become luminous with his presence, 

"And sorrow, touched by Him, grow bright, 

With more than rapture's ray, 
As darkness shows us worlds of light 

We never saw by day." 



382 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

May we not already discern the first gleam of this blessed light in the 
subduing and softening influence which the death of our distinguished 
Statesman has produced among his own compeers? Who can turn his 
eye to that touching spectacle, presented in the Senate of our country, 
when the announcement of his death was made, and not be moved ? 
Upon the field of political conflict the living Senator had found his 
foes. They, too, were men of giant minds. They had entered that 
arena together in early life. They had often met in warm debate, 
espousing opposite opinions, and defending them with all their strength. 
They strove together often for the mastery. But when a mightier than 
they had come, and Death proclaimed himself the victor there, the 
survivors felt the transitoriness of human glory, they dropped the tear 
of fraternal sorrow, and their genius wove for the pale brow of their 
departed rival the brightest garlands which he ever wore. And who 
shall say that even there, where the war of words and passions has been 
waged most hotly, the animosities of party shall not be forgotten in the 
deep-felt grief of every heart, and the pure patriotism of the mighty 
dead infuse its spirit into the souls of the living? 

And now, my brethren, it only remains that I conclude these remarks 
as I began them, by exhorting you to an unwavering confidence in the 
rectitude of the divine administration. Many will be the trials of our 
faith, but they will all be ordered in mercy. It is this heaven-appointed 
principle alone that shall bear us up vmder the manifold sorrows of life. 
But as it has always conquered, so shall it prove triumphant to the last. 
Through many a scene of perplexity and sorrow our path may lie ; but 
this shall not lead us out into the land of light beyond. When the 
fierce temptation shall assail you to distrust the providence of God 
because his hand is heavy, let your soul support itself by those higher 
views to which the text invites you. Should your possessions be spoiled, 
or your children die — should your friends forsake you, or your enemies 
for a while exult — on every such occasion let the Patriarch's language 
be yours — "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" The 
uprio-htness of your heart and the integrity of your life shall then 
support your minds; and the indefinite and external merits of our Lord 
Jesus Christ shall be your justification and your glory. Upon whom, 
in the unity of the Father and the Holy Ghost, let us unite in ascribing 
all honor and power, might, majesty, and blessing, forever — Amen. 



PORTER'S ORATION. 



Oration delivered before the Calhoun Monument Association of the Military and 
Fire Departments of Charleston, upon their First Celebration, in honor of the 
birth-day of Calhoun, at the Charleston Theatre, March 18, 1854, by W. D. 
Porter. Published, together with an ode written for the occasion by W. J. 
Rivers, by request of the Association. 

To-day is the anniversary of the birth of Calhoun — a day memorable 
in our annals, for it is associated with the advent of the largest and most 
commanding intellect, and of the longest and most faithful and illustri- 
ous public services, which it has pleased heaven to vouchsafe to this 
favored commonwealth. The occasion is fraught with recollections upon 
which we may dwell with profit, and which we should cherish with feel- 
ings of pleasure and pride. As we retrace the line of that great public 
career, standing out, as it does, for near half a century, in bold relief, 
upon the history of the times— sullied by never an act of dishonor, sub- 
serviency or unworthy compliance — and illustrated by so many noble 
displays of genius and eloquence, of constancy and self-devoting virtue 
in behalf of great principles of constitutional liberty, we cannot but feel, 
and reverently acknowledge, how much we have been honored by the 
lustre of a name, which, in life, was our ornament and pride, and which, 
under the hallowing sanctions of death, has taken its place in the moral 
firmament, a star among the constellations, that with a benignant glory 
look down upon us from above. Happy the people who can claim as 
their own, not the ashes only, but the immortal part, — the name, the 
renown, and the example of a truly great man ; happier still, if they 
have the virtue to prove themselves worthy of such a treasure. 

Just four years ago, fellow-citizens, you witnessed a spectacle such as 
you had never seen before, and will never see again. On the day of 
which I speak, all that was mortal of our dead statesman was brouoht 
back, with the honors of the country, from the late field of his glory, 
to the soil he had served so long and loved so well. The sad and touch- 
ing ceremonies which followed, your memories will recall, without the 
aid of description from me : — that scene at the Citadel Square, when 
the living thousands there assembled, bowed by a spontaneous impulse, 
with uncovered heads, before the funeral car, that bore within its sable 



384 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

folds their pride and their hope, laid low in death; — the long "proces- 
sion of the hereaved" which wound its way, in solemn march, through 
the silent and almost deserted streets ; — that other scene at the City 
Hall, then for the first time fitted up as the chamber of the dead, where 
from morning till night the old and the young, the high and the hum- 
ble, men, women and children, passed in unbroken line, through the 
dim-lighted catafalque, to look their last upon their best ; — and those 
closing ceremonies of the morrow, when young men in the vigor of 
manhood, bore him in their strong arms to the temple of the Most High, 
where, after anthem and prayer and solemn service, words were spoken, 
of fitting dignity and eloquent of grief, less in praise of the dead, than 
in comfort and admonition to the living I And how they laid him in 
the earth; and marked the spot with a memorial stone, bearing the sim- 
ple superscription of his name; — and then, strewed with garlands the 
grave of the mighty departed, turned slowly and sadly away from all 
they had seen and heard, to dwell in heaviness of heart upon what they 
could never more see or hear again ! All these things, I know, are still 
fresh in your hearts; and what stranger that beheld them, but mvist 
have felt that one' had fallen who was altogether worthy of a people's 
love, and that he had fallen among those who knew how to render the 
homage due to his worth ! 

And so, indeed, he was worthy; and it will be an omen of evil to 
those in whose service he had lived and died, when they shall begin to 
forget his memory, and when the sad reproach shall be theirs, that they 
honor him with their lips, but their hearts are far away. 

The memories of a people — the recollections connected with their 
great names and great events — are part of their best treasure : for out 
of these grow, in a good degree, their hopes, aspirations and achieve- 
ments. Virtue, public and private, is nourished by the contemplation 
of departed worth ; and one of the strongest incentives to a high strain 
of sentiment and action, is found in the traditions and records of brilliant 
eras. It is a noble instinct of our nature, which prompts in us a desire 
to be not unworthy the fame of our fathers. To feed this instinct — to 
train the young eagles to the flight of the old ones — to cultivate and 
diifuse the love of virtue by popular exhibitions of admiration and grat- 
itude for its most signal manifestations, — this is the wise policy of every 
people who have a past upon which they can look back with pride, or a 
future to which they look forward with hope. The Romans were accus- 
tomed to carry in procession the statues of their dead ancestors; and all 
nations that have any claims to civilization have sought to perpetuate 
in enduring forms, sensible to the eye, the lineaments and virtues of 



porter's oration. 385 

those who have connected their names with the glory of the country. 
We are beings of a nature mysteriously compounded, and are educated 
by the senses, as well as by the faculty of reflection. A sign or an im- 
age will oftentimes awaken emotions that the colder appeals of reason 
could never touch. As we linger around the memorials which commem- 
orate great men or great actions, we kindle in imagination, and drawing 
to ourselves some portion of the inspiration of the place, learn to emu- 
late what we behold and admire. Bright deeds are fitly embalmed in 
the song of the poet and the pictured page of the historian ; but not in 
vain do the painter and sculptor ply their strokes of art, almost divine, 
to make the canvass glow and the marble start to life. Bust and por- 
trait, statue and column are something more than mute memorials of 
afi"ection : for, while they perpetuate the remembrance of the dead, they 
speak to the hearts of the living in a language which, in all ages and 
countries, has found an interpretation and a response. There is true 
philosophy, as well as a fitness and a beauty in these things. 

We have had two races of great statesmen. Of the first race were 
the statesmen of the Revolution. They had a glorious work to perform, 
and manfully and thoroughly did they accomplish it. It is true that 
great occasions generally call forth great men, but it is equally true that 
these, in their turn, mould and fashion, if they do not create, such oc- 
casions. A remarkable exemplification of this may be found in our 
Revolution, which was essentially a work of principle. It is one of the 
chief distinctions of the statesmen of that day, that without waiting for 
actual oppression, they saw and resisted the very beginnings of misgov- 
ernment. It was not the amount of the tax, but the principle on which 
it was demanded, that kindled into a flame of indignant patriotism their 
jealous love of liberty. They knew, as by intuition, that there could be 
no freedom for a people who were subject to be bound, ''in all cases 
whatsoever," by the action of a legislative body in which they had no 
representation ; and upon this theme they spoke and wrote, remonstra- 
ted and reasoned, with a gravity of style and a strength of argument 
that had never been surpassed. To the clearness of perception, the 
vigor of understanding, and the reach and comprehensiveness of thought 
which are so admirably displayed in their State papers, they joined a 
courage and constancy of soul which neither toil nor danger could daunt 
or discourage. And so, when the war of words was over, they did not 
shrink from that of arms; and, having once appealed to the sword in 
defence of their rights and their homes, they rose easily and grandly to 
the majestic conception of redeeming the colonies from a condition of 
political dependency, and of clothing them with the name, the powers 
25 



386 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

and tlie attributes of free and sovereign States. Over the perilous path 
of revolution, through the valley of the shadow of death, they led the 
way to independence; and, after seven years of war, against fearful odds, 
and amid privations, reverses and disasters that would have shaken the 
purpose of less constant men, they made good their declaration, in the 
face and by the acknowledgment of nations, and rescued the fairest por- 
tion of the New World, for ever, from the tyrannous grasp of the Old. 

Nor did their services end with the achievement of independence- 
Having broken asunder an old monarchy, they next applied themselves 
to the work of building up a free republic. When we consider the nov- 
elty of the enterprise, and the difficulties necessarily incident to it, we 
cannot but regard this undertaking as still more extraordinary than the 
other. Who can tell how much of virtue, of wisdom and of political 
science far in advance of the day, was required to restrain a liberty, just 
born of revolution, from rushing madly into licentiousness ; to teach a 
people, in the very flush and fever of a triumph won by the sword, the 
noble lesson of self-control, and to turn, by the power of reason and per- 
suasion, into one broad, deep channel of safety, the conflicting tides of 
passion and opinion, which threatened to overwhelm all in anarchy ; to 
devise for the separate States laws and institutions, and new and untried 
forms of popular representative government, recognizing the people as 
the source of power, and securing, by proper guards and restrictions, 
the responsibility of the rulers to the ruled ; and afterwards, with a view 
to the common defence, and the formation of a more perfect union, to 
bind together by a Constitution, or Fundamental Law, the several in- 
dependent commonwealths into one great confederated republic, embody- 
ing and realizing to the eyes of foreign nations the idea of American 
constitutional liberty, challenging their respect by its justice and its 
power, and awakening everywhere, in the hearts of those who dare to 
think of freedom, hopes and aspirations which, however long subdued, 
will be cherished long — yea, even until the day of their consummation 
shall come. 

Truly they were great men, who could so deal with a momentous 
crisis in the history of a people ; who could call States into being ; 
invest them with the insignia of sovereignty ; organize them for happy 
and beneficent action, and administer their early functions, at home and 
abroad, with distinguished ability and success. On the rolls of fame 
there are no better or brighter names than those of the founders of 
the republic — of Washington, " first in war, first in peace ; " of Jeffer- 
son and Adams, Madison and Franklin ; of James Otis, Patrick Henry, 
Hamilton and Laurens ; of Gadsden, Hancock, the Kutledges, the 



porter's oration. 887 

t 



Pinckneys, and a host of others, their comrades aud compatriots 
They have passed away, but their work survives ; and though that 
work should perish, still will their names and their principles live in 
the recollections of men, till history and tradition shall be no more. 

To them succeeded another generation of great statesmen. They too 
were '' racy of the soil," aud of a masculine vigor of character and 
intellect. Born amidst the closing scenes of the revolution, and sprung, 
for the most part, from those who had been actors in that great drama, 
they were familiar with the men and traditions of the times ; and 
standing, as it were, near the fountain heads of patriotism, they drank 
largely of its living and health-inspiring waters. The great questions 
then in agitation, touching public and private rights, and theories and 
forms of government, generated a bold spirit of speculation and a coura- 
geous zeal for truth and freedom, which became thoroughly interwoven 
with the texture of their characters. As they grew to manhood, and 
advanced upon the stage of political action, the workings of the new 
government in all its departments, legislative, judicial, and executive; 
the lines of partition between the State powers and the Federal powers, 
the former original and self-existent, the latter derivative and delegated ; 
the extension of the boundaries of the republic, by the acquisition of 
new territory or the admission of new States ; its systems of currency, 
public credit, and internal improvement; and its foreign relations, 
particularly under the pressure of war, gave rise to a multiplicity of 
questions and measures, which were not only of new impression, but of 
sufficient magnitude to call into requisition the resources of the largest 
and most comprehensive minds. Nor did they prove unequal to the 
exigencies of their position. In their debates and discussions, happily 
preserved for the delight and instruction of after times, they poured 
floods of light, such as only genius and eloquence can pour, upon the 
theory and practice of our institutions ; and their statesmanlike conduct 
is amply attested by the steady and well-assured growth of the country 
in power and consideration abroad, and in all the elements of material 
and moral greatness at home. 

Amongst these post-revolutionary statesmen, Calhoun, Clay, and 
Webster were easily pre-eminent — " facile pr{)icipes." Their superi- 
ority was acknowledged by common consent. They soared to heights 
and penetrated to depths which none others could reach ; by the true 
mastery of intellect, they swayed the wills of masses of men ; and by 
their joint counsel and action, they modified and controlled the progress 
of the country in its wonderful developments. In the distinguishing 
properties of their minds they differed, just as we see excelling stars 



388 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

differ in glory. In one, an amazing power of thought and reason were 
chiefly predominant ; in another, a brilliant imagination and electrical 
eloquence ; and in the third, a beautiful and extraordinary combination 
of the imaginative and reasoning faculties. At times they stood side 
by side in the cause of the country, marshalling her, with glorious 
rivalry, in the ways of peace or of war ; and at other times, front to 
front, in the van of opposing ranks, they contended for victory with an 
ardor of battle that shook the realm to its centre. Who was in the 
right and who in the wrong in these conflicts of opinion, will always 
remain a fair subject for discussion and difference of opinion ; but when 
the heated passions of the day shall have died out, and reason and 
justice shall have established their sway over the minds of men, the 
clear and calm voice of historical truth, speaking not for the day only, 
but for all time, will declare that, however varied their opinions and 
their measures, they were one and all Americans and patriots at heart, 
true men and true statesmen, animated by an honesty of purpose, a zeal 
for what they believed to be the right, an intrepidity of soul and a 
commanding power of intellect, that have shed unfading lustre on the 
country. Such will be the verdict of that great tribunal of posterity, 
to which their motives and their actions are all now committed. 

It is not expected, on this occasion, that a minute and detailed nar- 
rative should be made of the life and services of Mr. Calhoun ; but it 
■is expected, and properly too, that something should be said of his 
moral and mental qualities, as rare in their assemblage as in their 
separate excellencies ; of his character, so singularly pure ; of the great 
parts he acted in public affairs ; and of his claims to be considered a 
statesman, an orator, and a political philosopher of the first rate, a bene- 
factor of his country, and the particular pride and glory of his State. 
And although I cannot hope for the exercise of an ability at all adequate 
to the occasion, still do I invoke, and would fain bring to the task, some 
portion of that spirit of truth, of historical justice and loving charity, 
with which the men of after times will regard those whose names they 
'will not willingly let die. 

There is somethino- beautiful and touching in the life-long relation 
which svibsisted between Mi'. Calhoun and the people of South Carolina. 
So much of fidelity on his part, and of unfailing confidence on theirs, 
for so long a period of time, and during so many trying vicissitudes, 
presents a moral picture which no person of generous disposition can 
contemplate without emotion. Those who think lightly of it, do not 
consider the high qualities in which this remarkable instance of mutual 
devotion had its origin. It was not the offspring of art and manage- 



porter's oration. 389 

ment on the one side, nor of a blind and unreasoning attachment on 
the other. No man ever stooped less than Mr. Calhoun, to the de- 
grading compliances of the demagogue or the courtier ; his real nobility 
of soul recoiled from them with scorn and loathing. What his heart 
coined, his mouth spoke, and that with a freedom and fearlessness of 
utterance that was the best witness of his sincerity. It was not in 
self-seeking or time-serving, but in the voice of his conscience, smaller 
but more potent than the voice of the multitude, that he sought and 
found the law of his conduct. Dear to him as was the confidence of 
his State — dear (to use his own words, on a memorable occasion) as 
light and life — he never hesitated to run the risk of losing it, rather 
than disobey the sober and deliberate dictates of his judgment. He 
had the heroic courage of mind — so essential to true greatness — that 
could turn aside from power, and place, and the dazzling rewards of a 
high and successful ambition, to tread alone the narrow and rugged path 
of duty, undismayed by clamor or calumny, and sustained only by the 
consciousness of right, and an intrepid faith in the ultimate triumph of 
truth. It is in the union of the highest moral with the highest intel- 
lectual nature, in that greatness of character which is the last finish and 
crowning excellence of greatness of mind, and which no single word 
perhaps so well expresses, as magnanimihj, taken in its best sense, that 
we find the secret and the source of his marvellous ascendency. 3Iany, 
who would now bow to the majesty of his intellect alone, rendered a 
willing homage to the still more commanding majesty of his virtue. 

To the State of his birth, this great and good man, in obedience to 
the double instincts of filial piety and patriotism, gave the first and 
choicest afi'ections of his heart. He brought to her service all the 
resources of his brilliant mind, all the energies of his ardent and aspiring- 
soul. With a jealous love he watched over her interests, and her honor 
was dear to him as the apple of his eye. The radiance of his early 
triumphs shed upon her a reflected glory, only to be surpassed by the 
noontide and setting splendors of his later career. As her youthful 
representative in the federal councils, he rose at once to the first dis- 
tinctions; and in that brilliant assemblage of orators and statesmen, 
known as the Twelfth Congress, he was likened to " one of the old 
sages of the old Congress, with all the graces of youth," and was hailed 
as "■ one of the master spirits, who stamp their names upon the age in 
which they live." In the discharge of the duties of a high executive 
department, to which he was called, he signalized his administrative 
ability, giving proofs that his faculties of action were equal to his facul- 
ties of thought. The popular heart acknowledged the spell of his 



390 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

genius ; and under the victorious auspices of the great republican party 
which then ruled the destinies of the country, he was elevated to the 
second office in the gift of the people. T3ut one step more, and the 
summit of his ambition was reached ! That step he forbore ; that 
ambition he checked and curbed in mid career ! The voice of his State 
called upon him, and he heard it only to obey. For the sake of her 
cause, which he believed to be the cause of '' truth, justice, and the 
constitution," he relinquished without a murmur, and seemingly without 
a regret, all the bright ambitious hopes of his life, and took upon him- 
self the arduous and self-denying character of her champion and her 
martyr. For more than twenty years, with a constancy of purpose that 
knew not the shadow of turning, and a power of reason and eloquence 
that will be admired so long as letters and knowledge shall survive 
among us, he contended, literally to the last beat of his heart, for the 
maintenance of her honor, and the vindication of her equal rights as a 
member of -the Federal Union. And in the solemn closing hours of 
life, that so searchiugly try the truth of the soul, he uttered a regret 
that he could not have " one hour more in the Senate," to plead the 
self-same cause ! What wonder that in his noble genius, his erect and 
dauntless bearing, his integrity so stainless and pure, and his loyalty, 
which neither the smiles of power could seduce nor its frowns intimi- 
date. South Carolina should recognize the qualities most worthy of her 
admiration I What wonder that she should extend to him in life the 
full measure of her affectionate confidence, and now that he is dead, 
should seek to perpetuate, by some enduring memorial, if not the glory 
of his services, at least the truth and sincerity of her gratitude ! 

We are naturally curious to know something of the early training of 
great men, and of the methods of discipline under which they attained 
their mighty intellectual stature. All that is known of Mr. Calhoun 
in this regard exhibits the self-reliance and native vigor of mind which 
characterized him in after life, and affords a striking example of the 
power of well-directed effort to compensate for the want of early advan- 
tages. During his first eighteen years, the academical instruction he 
received did not extend beyond the rudiments of reading, writing, and 
arithmetic, as taught in a country school. But we must not infer that 
this period of his life was passed without improvement. A mind like 
his could not subsist in idleness. Once in possession of the " golden 
keys," he unlocked for himself the storehouses of knowledge, and 
gathered what he would from its heaps of rich and abundant treasure. 
By self-cultivation, which deals with the world within as well as the 
world without, with our own thoughts as well as the thoughts of other 



porter's oration. 391 

men, he developed and strengthened the natural powers of his under- 
standing. He certainly had, at that time, the power and habit of 
study, for we learn that, from a small circulating library within his 
reach, he selected various works on history and philosophy, which he 
read with such intensity of application as seriously to impair his health. 
In the choice of books, we may discover the natural bent of his genius ; 
and his method of reading, described as so earnest and absorbing, was 
doubtless of that character which appropriates facts and principles, 
incorporating them, as it were, by the power of thought, into the mind, 
and rendering them available for use, whenever occasion requires. 
Whether he had, at this time, any revelation to himself of the capacious 
faculties that were slumbering within him, or any glimpse or dream 
even of the great part he was capable of acting in the affairs of life, 
cannot now be told ; but certain it is, as will appear hereafter, that he 
had fixed in his mind a high standard of the sort and degree of prepa- 
ration that was necessary to eminence in professional or political life, 
and that if it became his lot to embark in either, he would not be 
content to fall short of that standard. 

In his 19th year, an elder brother, moved either by fraternal love or 
an appreciation of his genius, proposed that he should receive an edu- 
cation at College. To his acceptance of this proposal Mr. Calhoun 
annexed two conditions, one of which shows the truthfulness of his 
affections, the other the maturity of his judgment, and both of them a 
fixedness of principle that was characteristic of him. The first was 
that the consent of his widowed mother should be freely given, without 
which he would not think of leavins; her. Neither ambition nor the 
prospect of so great a boon as a liberal education could induce him to 
disregard the promptings of filial piety. Another great man, Mr. 
Webster has told us that when his father first disclosed his intention of 
sending him to College, he laid his head on that father's shoulder and 
wept. How kindred in their emotions are noble natures, and how 
beautifully do these fine touches of humanity, gleaming out of them, 
like lights among the shadows of a landscape, soften and relieve the 
sterner character they acquire amid the cares and trials, the strifes and 
struggles of the world I Had that mother and that father been spared 
to witness the full results of their self-denying parental love, how would 
their hearts have swelled with a delight which words are too poor to 
express ! Even now, they have their reward ! 

The other stipulation was, that such provision should be made as 
would maintain him at his studies for a period of seven years before 
entering upon his profession. Unless this could be done, he preferred 



392 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

to remain a planter. In those employments which call for the highest 
displays of mind and knowledge, he knew that the superstructure could 
not be high and stable unless the foundation were laid broad and strong. 
Having set up in his breast a high ideal of excellence, he was fixed in 
his determination, either to compass it in full, or to forego the attempt. 
It is this spirit, the spirit of the motto "Aut Csesar, aut nullus," that 
is the actuating principle of all great efforts and great achievements. 

Happily both of these conditions were complied with. They have 
been dwelt upon not only because they illustrate the character of the 
man, but because they are of importance in the way of encouragement and 
example to others. When Mr. Calhoun entered upon the business of 
education, he entered upon it in earnest, and with his whole soul. It 
was his habit then, as afterwards, to do thoroughly whatever he under- 
took. He was not content with the forms and outward shows of things, 
but penetrated to the interior and the substance, plucking out from the 
mystery its heart. The proper fruits of a solid education exhibited 
themselves in the ease and power with which, at his entrance upon life, 
he dealt with great affairs. 

The public life of Mr. Calhoun, from the time he entered on the 
stage of political action, is part of the public life of the country. So 
great was the part he played, and so thoroughly did he stamp the 
impress of his mind and his will upon all the leading questions of 
Federal policy, that no proper history of the times can be written 
which does not embrace a history of his opinions, actions and influences. 
In a more general point of view, his public life may be divided in two 
parts or eras. In the first of these he appears in the character of a great 
political leader, inspiring with the ardor of his mind the counsels of 
the country; animating it to a bold vindication of its honor against 
foreign aggression; rallying its spirits, marshalling its resources, and 
organizing its victories in a war with the most powerful nation of the 
earth; shaping its domestic policy upon the most liberal principles, in 
the delicate and difl&cult stages of a transition from a state of war to a 
state of peace, and administering, with a capacity altogether imsur- 
passed, the high executive functions with which he was clothed. In 
the other, he stands forth in the rarer and grander character of a 
great political reformer, seeing and sternly resisting the abuses of the 
times; battling, if without hope, with a heart of courage, on the side 
of liberty against the side of power ; sacrificing all personal considera- 
tions in a noble effort to restore the government to its original purity, 
and to recall the country to the paths of republicanism from which it 
had strayed; throwing himself into the breach of a violated Constitu- 



porter's oration. 393 

tion, and struggling tliere with the strength of a giant, and self-devo- 
tion like that of the Spartan at the Pass, to save the rights of the 
States and the liherties of the people from the overwhelming tide of 
fanaticism and consolidation which threatened to sweep them away. 
Here are interesting and ample materials for political biography ; but a 
few glances at his career in each of these aspects, is all that is compati- 
ble with the purposes and limits of this occasion. 

The war of 1812 has been called our second war for independence, j 
It was a war for commercial, as the first was for political independence. 
It was waged in vindication of neutral rights, and for the freedom of 
the ocean as the great and common highway of nations. For a series 
of years previous to its declaration. Great Britain and France, the two 
great antagonists in the mighty European struggle then in progress, 
particularly the former, had impressed our seamen and committed 
depredations on our commerce, in utter disregard of our rights as an 
independent, non-belligerent power. In fact, they undertook, through 
their orders and decrees, to regulate our whole trade with foreign 
nations. The sensibility of the country was deeply excited by these 
wrongs and indignities, but it was the policy of the government to pre- 
serve peaceful I'elations so long as it could be done consistently with the 
national honor. In pursuance of this policy, resort was had to a sys- 
tem of restrictive measures, consisting of non-importation, embargo 
and non-intercourse acts, in the hope of compelling justice and enforcing 
redress for the injuries to which we had been subjected. 

No sooner did Mr. Calhoun enter Congress, than he advocated a 
bolder and more decisive line of conduct. At this early period of his 
life, while still a young man, he gave proofs of that high quality of 
statesmanship which consists in taking large and commanding views of 
public affaii's in great emergencies, — going before rather than lagging 
behind public sentiment — not so much followiug it, as moulding, direct- 
ing and lifting it up. He was of opinion that we were about to enter 
upon the second struggle for our liberties with our ancient enemy, and 
that war speedily declared and wisely and vigorously conducted, was 
the only means of establishing the honor and safety of the country. 
He resolutely assailed the system of restrictions, as inefficient in itself, 
and inconsistent with the genius of the people, and declared that he 
would prefer one victory over the enemy — by sea or land — to all the 
o'ood that could ever be derived from restrictions. As chairman of the 
Committee of Foreign Relations, he reported the bill declaring war; 
and after the declaration, he strenuously opposed the views of those 
who were in favor of uniting restrictions with war. "We have had," 



394 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

said lie, a ''peace like a war; in tlie name of Heaven, let us not have 
the only thing that is worse, a war like a peace." He rebuked the 
spirit of factious opposition ; denounced the low and calculating avarice 
that would shorten the arm and cripple the power of the government 
in time of war; and in a style of nervous and manly eloquence, admira- 
bly suited to the occasion, appealed for a vigorous prosecution of hos- 
tilities to every feeling of pride and patriotism that had a place in the 
hearts of his countrymen. There is so much of spirit and vigor in the 
contrast he drew between an active and a passive system of resistance, 
and in the animating appeals he addressed to the country through the 
debates in Congress, that did opportunity allow, I should take pleasure 
in reading for your enjoyment some passages from those noble speeches, 
which even now ring out with a sound like that of a trumpet, and 
which, with Mr. Clay's, were read at the head of our armies for the 
purpose of inspiriting the troops. 

Time has fully confirmed the justice and policy of the war, and too 
much praise cannot be rendered to those of our Statesmen who compre- 
hended the crisis in its full proportions, and met it with a commensurate 
boldness and energy. It is impossible to regard the conduct of Great 
Britain at that time in any other light than as a practical assertion of 
her supremacy upon the ocean, and of her determination, whenever her 
interests required it, to subject the commerce of the world to her super- 
vision and control. Her belligerent maritime policy, resting upon her 
superior naval power, and undertaking to regulate, according to her 
own views, the principle and practice of search and impressment, block- 
ades and contraband of war, amounted virtually to a substitution of 
her imperious will upon the ocean for the recognized law of nations; — 
so that not only the lives and property of our own citizens but the neu- 
tral rights of States, were involved in the alternative of our resistance 
or submission. In this point of view it was devolved upon the young 
Republic, single-handed and alone, to defend not only her own honor 
but the maritime rights of the civilized world, against the colossal power 
of Great Britain, particularly after the latter had been released by the 
peace of Paris from all complication with European hostilities, and had 
been left free to turn against her the whole might of fleets and armies, 
fresh from the fields of their triumph. Her situation was full of peril 
and responsibility, but she was not intimidated ; and under the guidance 
of firm and patriotic counsels, she fought her way, on land and on sea, 
to the issue of an honorable peace. 

The Treaty of Ghent, it is true, did not profess to settle anything in 
relation to the original causes of war. The British orders in council 



porter's oration. 395 

had been revoked shortly after the declaration, and the matters of im- 
pressment and blockade were left, by mutual consent, in statu quo. 
The treaty looked only to the restoration of peace and of commercial 
intercourse upon a footing of reciprocity. Still the waging of the war 
was a practical vindication of the strength of the government and of 
the patriotism of the people. To have succumbed would have been an 
acknowleds-uient of weakness and an invitation to greater as2;ressions. 
Nations, like individuals, hold their integrity and their safety by the 
tenure of a willingness and a power to resist oppression. The effects of 
the course pursued by the United States were felt immediately. The 
character of the country rose in general estimation, and our flag, before 
almost unknown, acquired a name and a recognition abroad. A higher 
tone of feeling and thinking, a tone of self-reliance and self-respect, 
sprung up in the bosoms of the people. The memory of Lundy's 
Lane and New Orleans became associated with that of Saratoga and 
Eutaw; and by a sort of retributive justice, in a war waged for the 
vindication of maritime rights, the thunders of our young but gallant 
navy woke echoes that startled the '^ sea-girt Isle" in its dream of in- 
vincibility, and announced in many a brilliant victory that the mastery 
of the seas, if surrendered elsewhere, was still challenged by the young- 
Republic of the West. The present security of our commerce on the 
ocean, and the immunity of American citizenship in distant lands, are 
among the legitimate fruits of the war of 1812. 

The career of Mr. Calhoun as a member of Cono-ress, and as Score- 
tary of War, placed him in the front rank of those upon whom the 
affections and hopes of the country were Used. Although still young, 
he had displayed, in the highest degree those qualities of mind and 
character which most captivate the hearts of a free and intelligent 
people, and which to the end of the chapter will sway the destinies of a 
polity like ours — such as ardor, boldness, independence, a hiah and 
stirring eloquence that appeals to the morale of our nature, a fearless- 
ness of responsibilit}^, a clear and quick sagacity to see what the high- 
est interests of the country demand in moments of exigency, and an 
unflinching intrepidity in devising and carrying out the measures proper 
to secure them. Perhaps I cannot convey a more accurate idea of the 
estimation in which he was then held, than by laying before you 
the opinion entertained of him by one who was himself an orator and 
a ripe scholar, a profound lawyer and a most virtuous and accomplished 
gentleman. I allude to the late Wm. Wirt. In a letter from Mr. 
Wirt, then Attorney General of the ITnited States, to his friend Wil- 
liam Pope of Virginia, under date 12th Nov. 1824, he thus speaks of 
Mr. Calhoun : 



396 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTK TO CALHOUN. 

''I am sorry that you did not see Calhoun. He is a most capti- 
vating man. If tlie Virginians knew liim as well as I do, he would be 
as popular in Virginia as he is in South Carolina. His is the very 
character to strike a Virginian — ardent, generous, high-minded, hrave^ 
with a genius full of fire, energy and light; a devoted patriot, proud 
of his country, and prizing her glory above his life. I would turn him 
loose to make his way in Virginia against any other }nan in the United 
States, the ex-Presidents excepted. He wants only what age will give 
him to assure to him, I think, the universal confidence of the nation. 
He is at present a little too sanguine, a little too rapid and tenacious ; 
but he is full of the kindest feelings and the most correct principles, 
and another Presidential term will, I think, mellow him for any 
service of his country." * 

Vv'^ithin a year from the writing of this letter, Mr. Calhoun was 
elected to the Vice-Presidency by an overwhelming vote. The duties 
of this ofl&ce are not of that engrossing character which could occupy 
the whole attention of a mind like his. It is understood to have been 
about this time that Mr. Calhoun, whose attention had been excited 
by the alarming growth of the Tariff system, instituted that searching 
and pi'ofound investigation into the powers and the policy of the 
Federal Grovernment, which wrought a change in his earlier opinions 
and gave character and direction to the whole current of his subsequent 
political life. x\lthough there has been much exaggeration as to the 
extent of his agency in particular measures, there can be no doubt that 
while in Congress, during and immediately after the war, he participated 
generally in those views of domestic policy, sometimes called national, 
which were then almost universal. Indeed, in his remarks on the 
resolution in relation to the Madison papers, made in the Senate, in 
1837, Mr. Calhoun admitted that '^when a young man, and at his 
entrance on political life, he had inclined to that interpretation of the 
\^ Constitution which fiivored a latitude of powers ; but experience, obser- 
vation and reflection had wrought a change in his views, and above all, 
the transcendent argument of Mr. Madison himself, in his celebrated 
resolutions of 1798, had done more than all other things to convince 
him of his error." It would not be just to his great memory, nor 
is it necessary to his fame or character, that there should be anything 
of concealment or disguise on this point. Magnanimity does not con- 
sist in never committing an error, but in rectifying it and making 
atonement for it, as soon as discovered. It is only the fool who never 

* Kennedy's Memoirs of Wirt, 2 vol., p. 185. 



porter's oration. 397 

changes an opinion; and lie is no better than a coward and a knave, 
who stifles in his breast the convictions of reason and duty, and who, 
seeing the right, will still the wrong pursue. 

And here it may be proper to take a passing notice of the imputation 
that the change in Mr. "Calhoun's political conduct was dictated by 
feelings of disappointed ambition, or of personal hostility to General 
Jackson. Those who make the charge, have either overlooked or con- 
founded the order and succession of political events. A slight refer- 
ence to facts and dates will suffice to place this matter in its proper 
light. The letter of Gen. Jackson to Mr. Calhoun, which led to the 
rupture in their friendly relations, bears date 13th May, 1830. In 
that letter he expresses ''great surprise " at a communicatiou which has 
been made to him, and proceeds to say, ''that frankness which I trust 
has always characterized me through life towards those with whom I 
have been in the habits of friendship, induces me to lay before you the 
enclosed copy of a letter from Wm. H. Crawford, Esq., which was 
placed in my hands on yesterday." It is unnecessary for the present 
purpose to enter into the subject-matter or the merits of the contro- 
versy; the material fact is, that until May, 1830, the relations between 
the President and Vice-President were those of political association 
and personal good will. 

The agitation in South Carolina, upon the subject of a protective 
tariff, had its commencement more than ten years prior to that date, 
the House of Representatives having, as early as 1820, affirmed the 
principle of Free Trade, but declined embarrassing the action of Con- 
gress in what seemed to be intended for the regulation of commerce. 
In 1828, Mr. Calhoun wrote the celebrated paper known as the 
" Exposition," which entered into a profound analytical examination of 
the principle and operation of the tariff system, and of the relations of 
the State and Federal Governments to each other. In this paper the 
protective tariff was characterized as unconstitutional, unjust, and op- 
pressive, and as tending to cornipt the government and destroy the 
liberty of the country ; and the remedy suggested in the event of a 
failure of all other redress, was that the State should interpose her veto 
or sovereign authority, to protect the property and liberties of her citizens 
from the consequences of a deliberate and dangerous infraction of the 
Constitution. At the same time, forbearance was recommended, under 
the hope that the great political revolution which on the succeeding 
4th of March would bring into power " an eminent citizen (General 
Jackson), distinguished for his services to his country, and his justice 
and patriotism, would be followed up, under his influence, with a com- 



398 THE CAROLIMA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

plete restoration of the pure principles of our government." The same 
Legislature which adopted this Exposition, cast the vote of the State 
for Gen. Jackson as President, and Mr. Calhoun as Vice President. 
Is it not clear that the '' Exposition," which preceded the '' correspon- 
dence " by more than a year, distinctly put forward the grounds upon 
which Mr. Calhoun afterwards planted himself, and foreshadowed the 
subsequent action of the State under the guidance of his counsels ? 
And is it not just as clear that nothing but a transposition or utter 
subversion of authentic historical facts, can lend the slightest shadow of 
foundation to the idea that the personal feud with (len. Jackson was 
the exciting cause of the great political struggle in which Mr. Calhoun 
embarked ? 

Equally absurd and without foundation, is the charge of disappointed 
ambition. In the fall of 1828, before the writing of the Exposition, 
Mr. Calhoun was Vice President. In the electoral college of that 
year, he had been re-elected on the same ticket with Glen. Jackson. 
They had come into ofl&ce on the tide of a civil revolution which had 
swept away the power of the yonnger Adams, as that of 1800 had swept 
away the power of the elder. They stood together, the heads and 
representatives of a great and victorious party ; and it may be affirmed, 
without fear of contradiction, that the personal popularity of Mr. Cal- 
houn, like his official station, was then second only to that of Gen. Jack- 
son. He was in the line of succession, and it was generally conceded 
that the influence of the Chief Magistrate would be exerted to promote 
his election to the Presidency upon his own retirement at the end of four 
years. It was at this time, and under these circumstances, with the 
most smiling auspices around him, while his star was yet in the ascen- 
dant and beckoned him on to the highest office to which an American 
citizen can aspire, that he shut his eyes upon the brilliant prospects 
before him, and devoted himself, heart, mind and soul, to the hard, 
arduous, and unpromising task of reforming the government, and saving 
the country from the fatal proclivities of its rulers. In his own simple 
but emphatic words — " The road of ambition lay open before me ; I 
had but to follow the corrupt tendency of the times ; but I chose to 
follow the rugged path of duty." There will be difference of opinion 
as to the soundness of his views, or the wisdom of his course, but it 
may be safely affirmed that our civil history does not present an example 
of sterner or more disinterested sacrifice of self to a sense of duty. 

The particulars of that struggle are familiar to you — many of you 
were actors in it, and most, if not all, of you know its history by heart 
— the argument, the agitation, and the fierce contests — the assembling 



porter's oration. o99 

of the convention and passing of the ordinance — the proclamation and 
counter-proclamation — the call to arms, and the warlike preparations on 
both sides — the breathing space that precedes the shock — ^and then 
*'the Gomproraisc," which stilled the troubled waters, and brought 
back again the calm and peace. In that, as in most exciting civil 
contests, the parties at home mistook each other's motives and purposes. 
On one side, it was believed that there was a reckless determination to 
dissolve the Union, and on the other, that there was an utter insensi- 
bility to the wrongs and injuries of the State. Both parties were in 
error. Afterwards mutual justice was done, and the era of good feeling 
restored ; and thenceforward the unanimity of sentiment in the State 
has been almost unbroken. 

Throughout the whole contest with the Federal Grovernment, the 
bearing of Mr. Calhoun was erect, manly, and undaunted. He 
betrayed no fear, and shrunk from no responsibility. It was one of 
those occasions that test the moral courage — which is the highest form 
of courage and one of the noblest attributes of mind. He knew that 
his cause was unpopular ; that the hearts of the people had been turned 
against him 3 that his motives and purposes were misunderstood or 
misinterpreted ) that he was encircled by the arms and the power of 
the very government whose action he arraigned and sought to overthrow ; 
and that upon the issues of the contest it depended whether his name 
would descend to posterity, coupled with the epithet of traitor or of 
patriot ; yet his courage did not fail nor his heart sink — he stood alone 
in the Senate house, unshaken, unterrified — and with no other weapons 
than those of justice, reason, and eloquence, won a victory for his cause, 
and for himself a brilliant renown. There is something in a moral 
attitude like this, which, if we are satisfied of the sincerity of the man, 
although we may disapprove his cause, compels oi;r admiration and 
sympathy. And well might one of his great antagonists, when in after 
years he stood beside his bier, and felt the memory of this and other 
scenes come thronging upon his heart, say to his surviving compeers, 
as he described his demeanor in the Senate, '^ who did not feel that he 
might imagine that we saw before us a Senator of l\ome when Home 
survived." 

It was certainly a great triumph to have brought to a stand a pro- 
gressive policy like that of the American system, which pressed with 
gross inequality upon the capital and labor of the South ; which tended 
to enrich one section while it impoverished the other ; which by means 
of the tariif created a surplus, and by means of internal improvements 
supplied the means of squandering it, thereby creating a demand as 



400 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

insatiable as the supply was lavish ; and tlie end of which, if unchecked, 
no man could well foresee. But still greater and more singular, is the 
merit and service of having recalled the attention of the country, by 
bold and profound discussion, to the nature, extent, and limitations of 
the Constitution under which we live ; of the delegated and limited 
powers of a government which is federal and not national, and in which 
the States are the '' integers of a multiple," and not " the fractions of a 
unit;" and of the high, transcendent right of each State in the last 
resort, whether under or over the Constitution, to interpose in some 
form its sovereign authority, for the protection of the property or the 
liberties of its citizens ; a right which presents the only refuge from 
intolerable oppression on the one side, and bloody revolution on the 
other ; a right to which, (whatever may be said to the contrary,) every 
State of this Union will assuredly and inevitably resort, whenever it 
feels that an occasion has arisen of sufficient magnitude to call for its 
exercise. 

It is in the order of Providence that at intervals of time men should 
be reared up, whose office and mission it is to abridge the powers and 
restrain the over-action of government ; to oblige society to recur to 
first principles ) to remind rulers of their trusts ; and to enlarge or 
reclaim the liberties of the people. The time was when these foes to 
the '' right divine " of rulers were denounced and oftentimes punished 
as traitors to the peace of society ; but now they are known and honored 
as the Apostles of Liberty. Such men were the leaders of the Barons 
who wrested the charters from King John at Runnymede ; such were 
Russell, and Sidney, and Hampden, and Milton, who in later days, in 
England, witnessed of the truth ; such were the Fathers of our Revolu- 
tion ; such was Mirabeau, whose sentiment it was that '' privileges shall 
have an end, but the people are eternal ;" and such in our day was 
Calhoun, a man of a century, whose character will be ^better under- 
stood and more valued, as in the progress of our institutions, men shall 
come to have a more thorough knowledge of that liberty which in his 
own words, "comprehends the idea of responsible power; that those 
who make and execute the laws should be controlled by those on whom 
they operate ; that the governed should govern." 

Time forbids us to follow Mr. Calhoun through the long series of 
useful and brilliant services which, as an independent Senator in Con- 
gress, he rendered to the country. Party has its uses, but it has also 
its evils, and one of these is its tendency to blunt the moral sense, and 
to constrain to its behests the free and independent exercise of the 
judgment. Party has also its prizes and rewards ; and the public man 



porter's oration. 401 

wlio undertakes to question its infallibility pays the penalty by periling 
his prospects of place and power. This Mr. Calhoun dared to do ; he 
would not take the law from party, because he recognized higher obli- 
gations ; wherever his principles and his convictions of duty led him, 
there was he to be found, seeking always the true spirit of the Consti- 
tution and the ti-ue policy of the country. Such men are rare, because 
self-sacrificing virtue — not in a single instance upon emergency, but in 
steady, uniform, consistent action — is rare ; but when found, especially 
in a popular government where transient passion often takes the reason 
captive, their value is beyond all price. Take as a single example his 
course upon the Oregon controversy. This was one of those exciting 
questions that touched the infirmity of the American people — their love 
of land, their lust for territorial acquisition. The public mind had been 
wrought up to the highest pitch of excitement. The Democratic party, 
under the lead of the President, and with an ascertained majority in 
both Houses of Congress, had declared for " the whole of Oregon or 
none," and the Whigs fairly reeled before the impending storm. At 
this juncture, and with a view to the exigency, Mr. Calhoun returned, 
after a short retirement, to the Senate. He was ofi"ered by the Presi- 
dent the mission to England, with the charge of the Oregon negotiation. 
He refused it. He knew that the battle was to be fought here before 
the country, and here he determined to stand. Peace and war trembled 
in the scales before him. Both parties looked to him. He stood before 
them like some great Tribune of the people, armed with a veto upon 
the action of each. The opportunity was tempting to place himself at 
the head of a great popular movement, but he determined that the peace 
as well as the honor of the country should be preserved ; and by his 
able discussions and the commanding influence of his position, he eon- 
strained a settlement which saved us from the direful consequences of 
an unnecessary war, and proved eminently satisfactory to the sober, 
second-thought of the people. Upon this occasion, as upon others, he 
spoke that "' word of guidance and deliberance," which when timely 
spoken by the proper person, the people seldom fail to recognize ; the 
word which rescues them from the dominion of their passions, and 
guides them in the path of true honor. In stemming the clamors of 
party and the madness that ruled the hour, Mr. Calhoun rose to the 
height of the patriot statesman, and stood before the country in the 
attitude and full proportions of a rare and commanding greatness. 

The union between these States — I mean the Constitutional Union — 
is founded on the basis of perfect equality. Upon the acknowledgment 
of independence, the colonies becatne separate and sovereign commuui- 
26 



402 THE CAROLINA TfllBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

ties, free to subsist severally or in connexion as they might choose. The 
Constitution, which is the law of the Union, professed to have for its 
object, among other things, to "establish justice," to "insure domestic 
tranquillity," and to "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our 
posterity." At the time of the adoption of the Constitution there were 
slaves in almost every State ; but in the plantation States they most 
abounded, and there, from the nature of the soil and climate, they were 
most likely to continue and increase. The regulation of commerce was 
with the North one of the most powerful inducements to the Union ; 
but with the South, whose great interest was agricultural, there was no 
such motive or necessity. Still a fraternal feeling, a recollection of 
common glories and common sufferings, and a general desire for security 
against dangers foreign and domestic, sufficed to bring all the States 
into a closer union than the confederation. But the Southern States, 
with a wise forecast and jealous caution, required stipulations and secu- 
rities in relation to that species of property which they felt to be pecu- 
liarly their own. Accordingly slave property was recognized and pro- 
tected by the Constitution, in the ratio of representation, in the ratio of 
direct taxation, in the provision for the surrender of fugitives from ser- 
vice or labor, and in the clause which allowed the importation of such 
persons as any 3tate might choose, until the year 1820. And it is a 
curious but significant fact, that the adoption of this element in the ratio 
of direct taxation was intended as an equivalent to the Southern States 
for what they lost by it in the ratio of representation — an equivalent 
which has not been enjoyed by them in consequence of the general re- 
sort of the Grovernment to indirect instead of direct taxation. 

Slavery is one of those mysteries which human reason cannot fathom. 
Why it has been and is and shall be, is of the counsel of God. But 
there are some things which we, among whom it has existed for gene- 
rations, do know — and these are of them : that it has a sanction in the 
Bible as well as in the Constitution ; that the co-existanee of two races 
in this section and the subordination of the one to the other, has been 
productive of positive good to both and has promoted the cause of civili- 
zation and religion j that the institution has grown with our growth and 
strengthened with our strength ; that it is wrought into all the parts and 
fibres of our system, social and political ; and that in it are involved our 
peace, well-being and prosperity, nay, the very safety and existence of 
ourselves and children. It is our right, therefore, and our duty, to 
demand that it shall not be disturbed by others, either directly or indi- 
rectly. 

Our forefathers dealt with this grfeat interest and element of power 



porter's oration. 403 

like men and statesmen. They fairly balanced the government in rela- 
tion to it ; and the covenant that they made in justice they kept in good 
faith. Years of peace rolled on ; the government grew in favor by its 
wise and beneficent operation ; and the people of the States, even those 
who had been distrustful of the Constitution, began to feel and acknowl- 
edge that the Union which had sprung out of their liberties was a new 
and cumulative blessing, like 

" Another morn, 
Risen on mid noon." 

It was about the year 1818-19 that the spirit of fanaticism, the evil 
genius of this country, reared its miscreated front in the halls of federal 
legislation, bringing in its train discord, alienation and woe. The ad- 
mission of Missouri into the Union was the occasion of its appearance. 
An attempt was made to impose upon that State a restriction as to 
slavery within her limits. A fearful agitation ensued. Missouri was 
finally admitted without the restriction ; but a provision was inserted in 
the bill authorizing her to form a State government, by which slavery 
was for ever prohibited in all the territory acquired from France, by the 
name of Louisiana, lying to the north of 36° 30' and not included within 
the limits of the State of Missouri. This was the Missouri compromise. 
It was a great and grievous error, because it violated the equal rights 
of the States, under the Constitution, in an immense territory which 
was their common property; because it connected a great moral and 
political principle with a geographical line ; because it established an 
odious- -distinction between the slaveholding and the non-slaveholding 
States ; and because it set an example which might be converted, as it 
has been converted, into a precedent for other and further encroach- 
ments. John Randolph saw it in this light, and refused to listen to 
any compromise; Mr. Jefl'erson saw it in the same aspect, and said with 
a melancholy foreboding, he should " die in the belief that the useless 
sacrifice of themselves by the generation of 1776, to acquire self-govern- 
ment and happiness to their country was to be thrown away by the un- 
wise and unworthy passions of their sons." The country too has at 
length awoke to a sense of the error, and there is reason to hope that it 
is in the way, not of repairing the mischief, for that cannot be done, but 
of retracting, as far as may be, the false step then taken. 

For a series of years after the Missouri question, the spirit of aggres- 
sion lay seemingly dormant ; but it had been quietly reinforcing its 
strength and gathering up fresh materials of agitation. It re-appeared 



404 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

in the year 1835, in a new shape, seeking to abolish slavery in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia and other places over which Congress had exclusive 
jurisdiction, and avowing that its ultimate object was to abolish it in 
the States. It invaded the school, the pulpit, the press, the popular 
elections and the halls of legislation. It became a tremendous element 
of political power, corrupted parties, swayed the operations of govern- 
ment, and finally shook the Union to its centre. 

When petitions in relation to slavery were first presented, Mr. Cal- 
houn was in the Senate. He opposed their reception. Apart from the 
constitutional question, which he argued with great ability, his princi- 
ple was to resist aggression in its beginnings, on the very frontiers; and 
for the philosophical reason that it is the more easily resisted there than 
elsewhere. Besides he had the wisdom to know that the smallest dan- 
ger to an object of vital importance should never be disregarded. No 
statesman of that day had so clear and deep an insight as he into the 
magnitude of the evil and the disastrious consequences it involved. 
With prophetic truth he foretold the stages of its future progress. He 
warned the country that it would infect the then sound masses of the 
North; that its object was to establish a foothold in Congress as the 
centre of operations for a crusade against the institutions of the South ; 
and that if it were allowed to proceed unchecked, deadly hostilities would 
spring up between the two sections, the conflicting elements of which 
would rend the Union asunder. The warnings of Cassandra were not 
more true or more unheeded. The outside barriers were soon thrown 
down ; petitions poured into Congress ; and abolition marched on its 
way triumj)hant. 

Mr. Calhoun was opposed to the Mexican war. The depth of that 
opposition, as he said, no man knew knew but himself. He foresaw 
that it would bring an acquisition of territory, and by inevitable conse- 
quence a renewal of strife. And such was the end. Brilliant as were 
the successes of the war, nothing can compensate for the civil mischiefs 
that have followed in its train. 

The counsel and conduct of Mr. Calhoun in relation to the territo- 
rial question was wise, patriotic and truly conservative. Timid minds 
called it rash, but in reality it was only bold and statesmanlike. There 
are some diseases of the body politic which take such deep root in the 
system as to defy the nostrums of quackery and require the skill and 
courage of science. This was one of them. He saw that it was a mo- 
mentous issue touching the foundation of government and the safety of 
society, and he girded up his loins to grapple with it for life or for 
death. The difiiculty lay not only in the hostile feeling — whether ori- 



porter's oratiox. 405 

ginating in fanaticism, or the lust of power, or both combined — which 
had arrayed one part of the country against the institutions of the other; 
but in the action of the government, which in obedience to that senti- 
ment, had destroyed the equilibrium in the relative political power of 
the two parts — an equilibrium which the very existence of an unfriendly 
geographical feeling rendered the more necessary for the protection of 
the weaker section. With patriotic anxiety he looked around for a 
remedy — for a means to "■ save ourselves and save the Union." He 
could see none outside the Constitution. What faith or dependence 
could be placed upon compromise, when even the Missouri line, a great 
and fatal concession on the part of the South, was repudiated and scorn- 
fully rejected by the North. The political elements were in wild com- 
motion. The winds and the waves were up. There was no safety but 
in a retreat upon the Constitution. Hear his words : " I see my way 
in the Constitution ; I cannot in a compromise. A compromise is but 
an act of Congress. It may be overruled at any time. It gives us no 
security. But the Constitution is stable. It is a rock. On it we can 
stand, and on it we can meet our friends from the non-slaveholdins' 
States. It is a firm and stable ground, on which we can better stand in 
opposition to fanaticism than on the shifting sands of compromise. Let 
us be done with compromises. Let us go back and stand upon the 
Constitution." 

The equality of the States in their federal relation, equality in dig- 
nity and rights, was the great principle upon which he planted himself, 
and to which he held with unrelaxing grasp. It was the earnest and 
rooted conviction of his mind, confirmed by deep study and a long ex- 
perience, that nothing but the practical recognition of this principle, 
enforced by fundamental guarantees, could save the South — the section 
in which his own dearest affections were garnered up, in which so much 
of intelligence, virtue, high civilization and un calculating patriotism has 
its chosen seat, and which it harrowed the very depths of his proud 
soul to contemplate as sinking down into a condition of unresisting in- 
feriority ; and that nothing but this could in the end save the Union — 
the arena of his glories and his sacrifices — to which he had devoted so 
many years of noble and patriotic service, and which in his heart of 
hearts, he loved better and more wisely than those who slandered and 
calumniated his name, and who, while they cried with treacherous lips 
''AH hail to the Union!" were inflicting blow after blow upon the 
Constitution, which is the life of the Union and without which it can 
"bear no life." 

He died in the midst of the controversy. The " terrific difficulty" 



406 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

pressed on his mind to the last, and witli his dying breath he consecra- 
ted the principles for which he lived and labored. In him the cause of 
the Constitution, which is the cause of justice and liberty, as well as of 
Union, lost a steadfast friend, its ablest and most strenuous defender. 
And if, indeed, it has been cloven down in disastrous battle, it was be- 
cause genius and virtue and the most chivalric spirit of heroism could 
not avail anything to prevent the catastrophe. 

• " Si Pergama dextra 

Defend! possent, etiam hac defensa fuissent." 

The genius of Mr. Calhoun, as exhibited in his oratory and his 
writings, was of a commanding character, and will live in its effects 
not only on our institutions, but on the minds of men wherever the 
records of his thoughts shall reach. In its modes of display it was 
purely original, and more strongly marked, perhaps than that of any of 
our public men. His clear and powerful intellect grasped with equal 
facility the minutest details and the broadest general views. The 
rapidity of his intellectual processes was equalled only by their pre- 
cision. The thinking power — not only the power of analysis which 
resolves complex ideas into their elements, but that of generalization 
which combines facts and principles into theories and systems — was 
developed in him to an amazing extent. In this regard, as well as in 
the fullness of his material and the sententious but pregnant brevity of 
his expression, his spoken and written discourses are a discipline for 
the student, and will instruct and delight posterity as they did the 
audiences to which they were addressed. The ardor of his mind, the 
vehemence of his will, was imprinted on every word he spoke and 
every line he wrote ; but no one could fail to perceive that it was not 
the zeal of the advocate, but the deep earnestness, the intense and irre- 
pressible enthusiasm of the lover of truth. Nor were his discussions 
confined to the interests of party or the purposes of a day; for in many 
of his speeches and papers, and more especially in that Posthumous 
Work which contains an elaborate exposition of his views of the science 
of government, he dealt with the great questions of right and liberty 
which are at the foundation of society and which affect the permanent 
well-being of mankind. To him more than to any of his cotemporaries 
will be awarded the praise of having found or made time, amid the 
busy cares of an active and stirring public life, to devote the powers of 
his clear and profound mind to philosophical speculation; and of having 
added, in systematic shape, the suggestions of a high reason and the 



porter's oration. 407 

inductions of a large experience to the general sum of scientific 
knowledge. 

Mr. Calhoun's practical statesmanship was manifested in his con- 
duct of the war — of which he was the master spirit; and in the man- 
agement of the War and State Departments — the former of which he 
reduced to its present admirable state of organization j and there is no 
extravagance in affirming that in power of combination, in fertility of 
resources, in the happy adaptation of means to ends, and in all the 
qualities which are required for administrative ability, he was not sur- 
passed by any executive officer the country has had. It is sometimes 
said, as if in disparagement, that he had failed to enforce his policy. 
This may be the fault of opportunity or circumstances and not of the 
man. The mere politician may win a short triumph upon the expedient 
of a day; but it requires a higher mould of character, a nobler and 
more masterly wisdom, to mark out the line of conduct which, however 
rejected or disregarded at the time, will yet come to be recognized and 
approved by the more enlightened judgment of the people. Fox was a 
great statesman and yet he failed to carry out his policy; but it is 
believed that the principles and the fame of Fox are at this day dearer 
to the heart of the mass of the British nation than those of his great 
and successful rival, the younger Pitt. Mr. Calhoun's name is identi- 
fied with the freedom of commerce, and with those principles of gov- 
ernment which give the amplest security to the liberty of individuals 
and the rights of States, and just in proportion as mankind progress in 
the idea that the world is governed too much, will his policy be enforced 
and his statesmanship vindicated. 

The character of Mr. Calhoun is a noble subject for contemplation. 
It has the mingled air of simplicity and grandeur which we are in the 
habit of ascribing to the great historical character of antiquity. He 
was 

"Like Cato firm, like Aristides just, 
Like rigid Cincinnatus, nobly poor." 

The same characteristics pervaded his personal demeanor, his oratory 
and his public exhibitions of himself, for they sprung out of the nature 
of the man. He knew no distinction between public and private 
morality, and regarded the State as but a wider sphere of duty than 
the family. Venality did not soil him, nor vulgar ambition corrupt his 
honesty. Office had no charms for him except as a means of public 
good; — witness his refusal of the mission to England that he might 



408 THE CAROLINA TRIBUTE TO CALHOUN. 

confront tlie clanger at liome, and his acceptance of the department of 
State under Mr. Tyler, that by the annexation of Texas he might add 
a noble domain to the Union and secure our commerce and our frontier 
from the machinations of a foreign power. The highest ofl&ce could 
not have houoi-ed him more than he would have honored it, for it was 
generally admitted that he was altogether worthy of it. In times of 
peril the eyes of the country turned instinctively to him for counsel or 
command; and the people of his State, who knew him best, were held 
bound to him, as if locked in indissoluble sympathy, by the wondrous 
spell of his genius and worth. No low or sordid motive was ever im- 
A puted to him ; indeed nothing could be more admirable than the high 
tone of his moral and political sentiment. Out of this grew that stern 
and unyielding civic virtue which, as presented in his public conduct, 
is a picture and a study; and which, by the confidence it inspired, 
enabled him to stand alone, without place or patronage, upon a level 
where no other man could have stood so long, and by the force of his 
individual authority to overrule the fierce struggles of party for the 
good of the country. He resembled Chatham, not only in ''the ques- 
tion of his death,'' as falling in the Senate House; but in the high 
antique style of his virtue, in his contempt for "the spoils," and in the 
indignant scorn with which he rebuked the corruptions and smote the 
abuses of his day. Not being the head of a great party he received no 
venal adulation, nor did he covet it; and as he preferred the interests of 
the people to their applause, his fame will be only the reflection of his 
greatness. The real substance of this will throw a mighty shadow 
along the ti'act of time ; and when hereafter men shall contemplate 
calmly and without passion, the simple but majestic qualities of his 
nature, his purity, his truthfulness, his contempt for calumny, his 
courageous love of truth and justice, the deep earnestness and sincerity 
of the man that looked upon duty as more than life, and that greatness 
of soul which aspired in thought, word and action to whatever is most 
excellent in the estimation of men — all displayed, without efi"ort or 
ostentation, in the private and social relation, as well as upon the theatre 
of public action — they will agree in the opinion that he was one of the 
grandest characters that America has produced. 

Gentlemen of the Association : — We are united for the purpose of 
raising a suitable memorial in honor of the name of Calhoun. In this 
work of civic gratitude, we but give expression to feelings and impulses 
that are common to the hearts of the people of the State, and that will 
find a response in every parish and district, from his late mountain home 
to his tomb near the sea. It is not that a monument is necessary to his 



porter's oration. 409 

fame, for this rests on foundatious more enduring than marble or brass 
In his genius which was animated by duty, in his virtue which stood 
" firm as a rock against the beating waves," in the greatness of his ex- 
ample, in the lessons of his recorded wisdom, and in the sum of his il- 
lustrious public services, which extended over a period of more than 
forty years and compassed the whole circle of national politics and in- 
terests ;— in these are his titles to renown. Tradition and history will 
take care of his memory. Not for him are the column and the pile ! 

"Dear son of Memory ! Great heir of Fame ! 
What need'st thou such weak witness of thy name ? 
Thou, in our wonder and astonishment, 
Hast built thyself a livelong monument, 
And, so sepulchred, in such pomp dost lie, 
That kings, for such a tomb, might wish to die!" 

^ We who have had the happiness to see and hear and know him, have 
his image in our hearts, and need no other remembrancer. But a feel- 
ing of gratitude to the dead and a sense of duty to posterity alike impel 
us to this work. Around the monument we rear will cluster associa- 
tions that will render the spot a place of pilgrimage to those who suc- 
ceed us. There will they repair to refresh their patriotism, to strengthen 
or catch anew the sentiment of duty, and to learn how beautiful and 
noble a thing it is to serve one's country and to be remembered by it 
with blessings ! 

Ladies of Carolina :--WM\x modest ardor you have obeyed the in- 
stincts of your nature and brought the homage and the offerings of your 
hearts to the altar of a great memory. In what another has called "the 
almost seraphic purity of the personal character" of Mr. Calhoun, and 
in the beautiful consistency of his public with his private virtue, is the 
charm that has won you to this labor of patriotic love. There is hope 
in your sympathy; there is encouragement in your smiles; there is the 
sober certainty of success in your endeavors. And when in coming 
years the column shall lift its summit in noble proportions to the sky, a 
fit emblem of his worth and a memorial worthy the gratitude of a gen- 
erous people, its crowning beauty will be the garlands of grace thrown 
upon it by the hands of his fair country-women ! 



ODE, 

BY WILLIAM J. RIVERS. 



The warrior we praise, who hath fought unsubdued, 

While raged the dread storm of the battle around him ; 
Oh! praise him who triumphed, unblemished Avith blood, — 

For Justice and Truth with fair garlands crowned him ! 
We will praise thro' all time, the brave deeds of each clime — 
Yet mightier than Valor, soars Wisdom sublime ; 
And her vigils unwearied, bright visions disclose, 
Where Peace fears no perils, and nations repose ! 

We praise him who turned from the splendors of power, 

O'er Truth's clouded altar his banner unfolding ; 
Our foes ever baffled, in strife's darkest hour. 

With homage were bowed, our stern champion beholding. 
Majestic he stood — as a prophet of God 

The future revealing — and senates were awed! 
And his arm was still lifted, and fearless his soul, 

When serenely he paused, where death's dark billows roll. 

Shall we see, by no grateful remembrance adorned, 

The grave where our dauntless defender is sleeping ? 
Tho' mourned for, as never was conqueror mourned, 

Tho' wept for, with grief that hath hallowed our weeping ! 
From afar to our home, shall the stranger e'er come, 

And ask for his tomb, and our children be dumb ? 
Oh, no ! o'er his ashes our deeds shall proclaim. 

How in death, as in life, we have honored his name ! 



CONCLUDI^' G REMARKS. 



The task of the Editor, however unskilfully performed, is here ended. The 
literary monument to Calhoun is now finished. Composed of the undying mate- 
rial of mind ; cemented by kindred sympathies ; upheld by the mutual dependence 
of the several parts; and the whole crowned with the wreath and colorino- of 
poetic thought, it stands firm and fair-proportioned — bathed in its own bright 
light, and covered all over with glowing inscriptions. More lasting than any 
physical structure, more fitting than any work of men's hands, this memorial is 
perhaps better than even a " starry-pointing pyramid." Such, however, as it 
is — whatever may be its merits, we commit it in all its deep significance to the 
People of South Carolina. 



THE END. 



i 



